COMMENT

Probable changes

Going by what is being whispered around in the right circles, it seems there is going to be a change, if not in the leadership of the government itself, then at least in the cabinet of ministers. Ironically, such a reshuffle has become imminent for various reasons. It may be mentioned that the Nepali Congress, which has formed the government after several years of unstable politics in the country, will suffer a formidable setback if it doesn’t throw out ministers who have been proved guilty of misdeeds. So both the supporters and detractors of the government, that also within the party itself, should not take it as a defeat or a victory, when such wrongdoers are thrown out and new faces brought in. The people expected a performing government that would dole out results which would have an impact on the life of the general masses, but in spite of the sincere efforts from at least some of the ministers, as a whole the people seem dissatisfied with the performance of the government. So when some individual ministers have committed mistakes that are unpardonable, at least politically, it is only right that they should be fittingly punished by a government which enjoys majority support in the Parliament. But is this happening? It doesn’t seem so. Nepali Congress party president Girija Prasad Koirala had said that Minister Bal Bahadur K.C. would be out from the cabinet within “two or three days” while talking to the press several days before Dasain, but KC is still a Minister. When such a public declaration of the ruling party’s top man is proved just hot air, what can the people expect? Furthermore, Minister KC’s ‘crime’ was a highly publicised one which every aware citizen of the country seemed knew about. If a leading member of the government could be involved in such a despicable act of barging into the house of a woman and then physically abusing her, as reported in media circles, then what sort of an image would the people have of the government? Even if just for the sake of the other members of the cabinet and also the Nepali Congress, persons like Minister Bal Bahadur KC should have been punished, but nothing has happened till now. And this, in spite of the fact that the ruling party’s president himself had said the Minister would be ousted!

But apart from just punishing the wrong doers, there seems to be an undercurrent within the ruling party, seeking more than just cosmetic changes in the government. There were reports in the press of MPs of the Nepali Congress going to the party president with a signature campaign, in which sixty MPs had put their signatures, seeking a change in the highest level of the government. It may be mentioned that such disenchantment within the party before, had been the cause of the downfall of the majority government of the NC in 1994 as well. This time also, if NC leaders do not become pragmatic in their approach and instead remain dogmatic in their stance, there could be trouble for the whole nation and not only the party. Even normally, the problem of the Maoist insurgency is driving the country to a politically serious situation. With developments like the army taking over the country in Pakistan, a SAARC member nation like Nepal, it is not out of the ordinary to hear people expressing concern here too. When the leaders act only for reasons of complete self interest and not for the welfare of the people in general, how long can things be taken as normal? This is a question which more than anybody else, the leaders of the Nepali Congress and also the opposition parties including the Maoists,  should ask themselves. They just can’t keep on working for only their interest, not when they hold the destiny of the nation in their hands. For now, Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai and party president Koirala should be firm in their stance and rise above petty differences. If Koirala says Minister Bal Bahadur KC will be sacked because of his irresponsible behaviour, then he must go. If not, then Koirala himself should step down on moral grounds. For now, only the Maoists have become a threat to the irresponsible behaviour of the political leaders, there may come a time when the people as a whole will become a more potential threat. Let us hope a situation will not arise when that time will have to come.

A three hour amnesia

-By K.C. Bhatta

In the contemporary age, religion no longer appears to remain the opium of the masses. Instead, the cinema or the show business has largely replaced religion, with its opiate effect but philistine values.

It was interesting the other day, to watch a few of the bollywood stars on a talk show on the BBC. To ones’ surprise, the stars flatly denied that in any way do they influence the society and except for entertaining, they have no other role to play for the development of the society.

They also stressed that, they must not be considered as role models by the youngsters and that either they should be loved or left alone.

The stars, obviously tried to put forward their case in black and white terms, about a gray area: the influence of the cinema on the society. On the whole the show on the BBC was a worthy display of the flip side of the otherwise ‘glamorous’ coin of the show business and the cine stars looked as dispensable as anyone else in the society and far from their larger than life, magnanimous and maverick ‘celluloid’ selves. They even seemed to believe that they could always have their cake and eat it too.

It was but natural for these stars to appear as selfish and narcissistic, as they are a part of a dog eat dog profession and have too little time for contemplating upon the contribution of their enterprise in exacerbating the problems of the society.

In fact, the cinema, Hindi or otherwise, has not done much to address the social problems, despite its overwhelming influence on the society, except for imparting a three hour amnesia on the illiterate multitude, depicting outlandish stories of hilarious characters and circumstances. One could afford to never take them seriously but for their following among the masses. Filmdom appears akin to an unscrupulous enterprise that exploits the ignorant masses with complete impunity.

Among their audience, the cine stars enjoy the cult like following and are spared of the critical scrutiny that they deserve for indulging in a less than astute or celibate lifestyle. In fact they are applauded for whatever they do, with the active connivance of the intransigent media of the contemporary times.

It was surprising that the cine stars who were found to be on the wrong side of the law, while they were caught indulging in poaching the endangered wild animals or possessing the illegal weapons continue to be more popular than they were before. Such permissive attitude of the society, towards the cine stars, is not a healthy sign and may actually reflect its own dubious standards.

It was the contention of the stars that the movies reflect what actually happens in the society, though the academicians frequently attribute the increasing anomalies and crime rates in the society-to their glorified depiction of the same in the celluloid.

Such recrimination by the cine stars may never end, however, after watching the show on the BBC, it was sobering to realise that the cine stars are also as petty and vulnerable people as every one else and their lives and thoughts as benighted and prosaic as the contemporary politicians.

About Russian doctors

I  read the comments made by Mr. M. Singh about Russian doctors. Being a Russian graduate,  I understand that Russian or Soviet education system is not suitable for  students from such countries like Nepal or India where the main emphasis is given on mugging  the facts. Russians give more emphasis on  understanding the subject. So, they cannot repeat all that is written in  books  like a parrot.

Russian doctors suffer from language problem too. They do not get  to practice in the same language in which they are taught. After arriving in their own country, they have to work hard starting from Snell to Davidson’s. Inspite of this fact, many doctors from Russia are doing fairly well in their fields. Nobody has the right to blame all the doctors who graduated from Russia.

Yes, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, some Nepalese, who might be under- qualified for the admission are studying in the Medical or Engineering Faculty. The Nepal Medical Council should fix some sort of pre-test before issuing the registration certificates.

 I was also a student of ASCOL. I   agree with Mr. Singh that  I.Sc. or any basic science course is necessary for all,  even for those who are planning to study in Russia. Only S.L.C. is not sufficient. I do not advice the guardians to send their children to Russia right after SLC.  For the fiirst two years in Russian medical course, every one has   to pass the basic science courses. For those going to Russia without a background in basic science , it is difficult and they may end up losing a year or two.

I want to draw the attention of NMC  to the indigenous practitioners who are practicing without legal qualifications. They are acting like consultants and robbing innocent people. We do not have to go far, lots of technicians are practicing  medicine even inside Kathmandu valley. Terai belt is filled with self proclaimed doctors. Who is going to control them ? What about the large number of people suffering and being robbed  everyday by these indigenous practitioners?

-Dr. Bhandari DP, MD, M.Med.
Peshawar, Pakistan.

Suggestions!

I have been reading The Independent for almost a year now. It is a good newspaper with lots of political news (mostly). I find that there is nothing interesting for women to read. So why don’t you add some articles every week on womens’ issues like cooking, looking after oneself, tips on makeups, exercise etc.

If you decide on it I can always send you articles through e-mail. That way may be it might increase the demand of the newspaper. Here in Calgary women related articles usually have all the ads of cosmetics, clothes and beauty saloons. May be you can get those people to advertise their products in your paper. r

-Shova Kassam
Calgary, Canada Via Internet