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LETTERS |
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LETTERS |
Distorted Policies Agriculture is the only sector through
which the living standards of the Nepalese people can be improved ("Unstable and
Uncertain", SPOTLIGHT, February 14). In the name of industrialization and expansion
of the service sector, unfortunately, our policy makers have knowingly and otherwise
ruined a sector on which more than 80 percent of the population depends. Once strong
enough to export its agro-based products, Nepal is today compelled to import expensive and
low-standard Indian and Chinese grains and vegetables. Noodles and biscuits have replaced
the consumption of grains in some mountainous regions. The Karnali region provides an
example of how the creation of thousands of jobs in the noodle and biscuit industries has
undermined agricultural production and adversely affected millions. Many other sectors of
the country are feeling the long-term effects of foolish economic policies. Kumar Uprety Hopeful Steps The visit to the Bhutanese refugee camp by
the Kathmandu based senior diplomats of western countries might be seen by many here as a
promising step towards the resolution of the thirteen year old vexing problem. The
Bhutanese refugees who have been living a very miserable life in an alien country being
forcibly evicted from their motherhood deserve quick repatriation to their homeland. These
countries whose representatives have shown real concern for the refugees can exert
effective pressure on Bhutan to take all legitimate refugees back without delay. But
Bhutan will not agree to any kind of solution of the problem without the tacit approval of
her bigger neighbor and benefactor, India. Since Bhutan had acted on her advice when they
had started this mass eviction, their long drawn out negotiations with His Majestyís
Government of Nepal have made it amply clear that they do not seem to be their own master
in taking a final decision on this issue. As such, it has become imperative for the
western countries, if they are really serious in bringing this burning humanitarian
problem to an early solution, to impress upon India to advise Bhutan to come to a quick
negotiated settlement. Bikram Thapa Unjustified Accusations The statement of the Indian Prime minister,
Atal Bihari Bajpayee that Nepal is permitting terrorist activities by I.S.I. against India
from Nepalese territory has come as a bolt from the blue for all Nepalese people. The
Nepalese people had always held Bajpayee in high estimation. By resorting to the style of
the South Block diehards of hurtling baseless accusations against the small and weak
neighbor, Bajpayee has not only lowered himself in the eyes of Nepalese but widened the
gulf of mistrusts and misunderstanding so meticulously nursed by his bureaucracy. Shutting
his eyes to the overbearing behavior of the R.A.W. and maligning Nepal, Bajpayee has cast
a damaging doubt on Nepalís friendship and good neighborliness, which can never be
conducive towards strengthening the bilateral ties. Suman Bista Maligning Report An article written by a certain Dileep
Padgaonkar titled ìMending Fences With Nepalî was published on January 6, 2003 by India
West, a weekly newspaper in San Francisco, USA. In his article Dileep has bitterly accused
Nepal: ìWhile India looms large in Nepal it is all too rarely that Nepal figures on
Indiaís radar screen.î And thatís not all. His notable accusations also include; Nepali
politicians, academics and journalists seldom miss an opportunity to take a swipe at
India; Nepal is forever playing China and Pakistan against India, and Nepali politicians
lambast India in broad light only to seek all kinds of out-of-turn favors after nightfall.
Furthermore Dileep quotes the new Indian Ambassador to Nepal Shyam Sharanís reiteration
that India has provided full support for Nepalís efforts to crush the Maoist insurgency,
and that Nepal is not India-locked, it is India-open. The above accusations are biased,
misleading and untrue. They aim at further deteriorating the already worsening Nepal-India
relations. At the same time, Indiaís ìhigh-handednessî has also continued to be a
matter of intolerable concern to us which clearly demonstrate Indiaís evil intention of
turning Nepal into yet another Sikkim which is only Indiaís wishful thinking. Therefore
the true situation is: 1) had India provided full support to Nepal, the Maoist insurgency
problem would have been minimal and negligible, protecting thousands of lives and national
properties; 2) India has dumped on Nepal the Bhutanese refugee problem since the last 12
years causing untold miseries to the refugees and headache to Nepal; 3) India has forcibly
occupied (stolen) Nepalís 60,000 hectares of land at 54 places and has even stationed an
army at Nepalís Kala Pani area; 4) India continues to build large flood-control dams
along the Nepal-India open border without consultation with Nepal thereby protecting their
own land and flooding and destroying thousands of hectares of agricultural land on the
Nepal side every year. Based on these facts Nepalese people, politicians, journalists and
academics have rightly swiped and will continue swiping at India, as they have no other
choice. Mrigendramani Dixit |
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editor: spotligh@mos.com.np |
