Letters (Spotlight Weekly)

Issue of Concern

The issue raised in the cover story is of general concern "AGRICULTURE: Cashing The Crops (SPOTLIGHT December 24)." Although Nepal is an agro-based country and a majority of Nepalese still depend on agricultural production for their livelihood, issues of agriculture are rarely covered in the newspapers and magazines. Your paper has done a laudable job by giving due attention to such neglected issues. I hope to see similar coverage in the coming days.

Sita Bhujel
Baneshwore

Different Opinion

The cover story on agriculture strays from ground reality "AGRICULTURE: Cashing The Crops (SPOTLIGHT December 24)." Agricultural sector is as badly hit as any other sector by the conflict if not worse. The arable land in many remote parts of the country is barren because of the lack of manpower. As youths who work in the fields have fled the villages thanks to the persistent intimidation from the security forces and the rebels, there are only elderlies, children and women in the villages. The farming is not done with best effort. The transaction and transportation of the produces have also been paralyzed. On the urban and sub-urban region, the sector is badly hit because of the frequent strikes and blockades. It is true that farming has shifted from subsistence to commercial in these regions. But in the present context the shift has only made the lives of the farmers all the more difficult. The prices of fertilizers, improved seeds and transportation - all very essential for commercial farming are very high and not easily available in all seasons. The productivity largely depends on the weather. The woeful time comes when it is time to go to the market to sell the products. The first is the activity of the brokers. Although, the prices of the agricultural products are increasing day-by-day, very small fraction of this money goes to the real producers. It is the middlemen who benefit more. There is involvement of almost half a dozen people in the chain of delivery from producer to consumer all working at a very high profit margin. So the real farmers actually make very little profit. The situation is aggravated by the constant disturbances in the transportation and market because of the conflict. There were news in the recent days that farmers have been compelled to throw away tons of vegetables and spill gallons of milk because of the road blockade. This is not a one-time event in Nepal. It occurs time and again. And every time there is a disturbance the farmers suffer.

Navin Pokharel
Samakhusi

Indians Are friend

Apropos the letter by Kumar Khadka in SPOTLIGHT (December 24), one cannot blame all Indian people for the crime committed by a few Indian bureaucrats, security agencies and intelligence operatives in Nepal. Despite changes in the mode of the government, these bureaucrats still work under a colonial mindset. Even Indian people are victims of colonial mindset of Indian bureaucracy. Since Indian people in general are very helpful and generous to the people of Nepal, criticizing the common people of India will serve the interest of those forces that want to create gap at the people to people relations. Indian people hardly complain about millions of Nepalese living, working and studying in India. For the crime of a small section of bureaucrats, it is undutiful to blame Indians. One must not forget that Indian people in general has great affinity towards Nepal and Nepalese people. Don't try to poison this centuries-old relationship on liking and disliking of few guided by vested interests. I agree with late B.P. Koirala that there is no conflict of interest between people of Nepal and people of India. Our relations are not based on selfishness. Tens of thousands of Nepalese, who have been living in the high-hills, have sacrificed their lives to protect India and many are still working in India. This is taken as a pride in Nepal. Unfortunately, there is tendency in Nepal to criticize Indian people as a whole for a crime of few. I hope you respect the friendship existing between Nepalese and Indians. One must not write to hurt their sentiments and love towards Nepal.

Biju Gurung
Baidam, Pokhara

Misinterpretation

I am advocate working for the rights of Dalit and other vulnerable. I have produced various books and articles on Dalit rights field. First of all I would like to appreciate you for giving the place for the article on Dalits. One article has been published recently by SPOTLIGHT on the latest, which was written by Dr. Niranjan Prasad Upadhaya ("Status Of Dalits In Nepal", December 3). He has rightly analyzed the situation of Dalit with various perspectives. But there was one mistake in the article. The article quotes "but excludes places of religious practice from the scope of Act." This is the sentence that speaks about the legal legitimacy of discrimination on religious places. But this is misinformation. Muluki Ain has not mentioned such discriminatory provisions. Such provision was challenged and made null and void. So, such misinformation is not expected from the author.

Tek Tamrakar
Advocate