THE SUNDAY POST ( a weekly magazine of the kathmandu post )

S E C O N D P A G E

By Khila Sharma

The school, which was similar to Notre Dame Schools in 35 countries all over the world, was the only school of that kind in Nepal. Although Mother Teresa Gerhardinger of Germany, the founder of SSND, opened Notre Dame schools in the 19th century aiming to provide quality education for girls, Notre Dame Bandipur admitted children and job seekers irrespective of sex and faith. The nuns’ service was above suspicion of proselytization, which some people were rather sceptical of. They used to say that it does not matter whatever faith we practise, the destination is one but the routes are different. Even when we start a pilgrimage from our place of abodes to one shrine, it’s impossible for all mankind to follow the same route.

The establishment of Notre Dame gave Bandipur the revival of its prosperity. People from neighbouring villages started to acquire homesteads in Bandipur. It was a resort for those who had abandoned Bandipur in its difficult days. The tenants were cramped for space in a once-depopulated town. Those landlords who procrastinated to renovate their houses were missing the boat.

The school had several projects concentrated on the overall welfare of the Bandipurites. The locals were the beneficiaries of its policy to encourage them to open hostels for the Notre Dame students. The sisters were concerned about the care and education children were getting for free in Seto Gunras (White Rhododendron), a separate childcare centre. There was a free Bhaibahini Kaksha (Sibling Class) for the children who were underachieving in the school classes. The Egg Project targeted at the academic success of the children studying at various schools in Bandipur. The reason was that undernourished children couldn’t achieve well. The Notre Dame Agriculture Project was successful in providing plenty of dairy products, chicken, vegetable and fruit for the staff. The ultimate goal of the project was to make the supply sufficient at least for the whole community in Bandipur. The Higher Secondary Education Project was an exemplary endeavour to give science education in well-equipped classrooms and laboratories. One cannot find a match in terms of the infrastructure in a location like Bandipur, but now it’s going to be covered in lichen and moss.

The way the sisters worked was really worth learning. Had there been two high officials like Sister Janet, the Notre Dame principal, in each district, Nepal would have had an entirely different role in the world theatre. They were in an alien land far away from their homeland, not for earning but for charity. They did not have a family to work for. But when there was a need, they did not even hesitate to wash the dishes that the staff ate and drank out of. It is an example of high respect for labour in a culture where cooking, washing and cleaning are attached to women and peons.

Unfortunately Notre Dame is now a daydream in the eyes of the Bandipurites. The second nightmare of Bandipur began last year when the Maoist insurgency did not spare Notre Dame. It seemed that they wanted to use Notre Dame as a symbol for shutting down all the other private schools in the region. Unlike other private schools, it was easy to shut down but difficult to reopen.

But the locals still hope that the closure is not for good and all.

If a rumour holds water, the intention of the local PABSON (Private and Boarding School Organization of Nepal) delegates who were on a so-called mission to reopen the private schools in the region too seemed doubtful about Notre Dame. At a negotiating table, when the rebellious student representatives insisted that reopening all the private schools was not justifiable because people had not demanded so except as regards Notre Dame, the PABSON people were irresponsive. It seemed that they were tight-lipped. Why didn’t they want to negotiate a settlement to give at least Notre Dame the go-ahead when there was a green signal? Why didn’t even the "terrorists" respect the people’s genuine appeal, which they were well aware of?

The principal used to say that they had been working in Bandipur in response to a lot of calls the people had been making in order to restore the economy, natural and cultural heritage of the beautiful place. The sisters, whose ultimate goal was to make the locals self-reliant in education and agriculture, had been working out of philanthropic motives. Their predetermination to start a higher secondary programme on agriculture science was diverted to pure science on request of the locals and the then minister for education. Though the sisters had seen the need of agricultural development in Bandipur, their programme was barred even by the unavailability of 10+2 agriculture curriculum in Higher Secondary Education Board.

Bandipur enjoyed a renaissance when a group of Japanese sisters in association with American sisters belonging to a Roman Catholic congregation called School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND) opened an incredibly good school there. The sisters with the support of the staff and the community worked day and night to raise the people’s spirits there. They knocked on the doors and collected children from their doorsteps in the early days of Notre Dame School in the mid eighties. Many locals donated houses and land to the school. The sisters offered a lot of scholarships to the children who could not afford Notre Dame education. Any child living in Bandipur and having lost his/her father was entitled to a Notre Dame scholarship. The locals were given the top priority both for scholarships and employment opportunities. Widows and under-privileged groups were always at the forefront.

When the country was expecting a peaceful solution to the rebellion, the Bandipurites were very optimistic about the resurrection of Notre Dame education there. When the Biratnagar conference of the student wing of the Maoist party passed a resolution not to attack non-government schools run by communities not for profit but for service, it raised hopes in Bandipur a little high because only a school like Notre Dame could meet those criteria. Moreover, the rate of the fees charged at Notre Dame was minimal compared to the quality and facility it was providing. The scholarship scheme had enabled a great number of paupers to afford Notre Dame education. Many direct and indirect job opportunities for the locals in Bandipur could be seen in the hustle and bustle of the town when there was Notre Dame.

The Maoists could have let Notre Dame function and referred to it as an ideal model of private schooling. Isn’t there any room for private schools in a communist rule? Don’t they have patience to listen to the genuine voice of the people? If they had seen any wrong at Notre Dame for the welfare of the poor, why didn’t they show their discernment to put forward a list of their recommendations? What was wrong of the sisters without a household if they had made any mistake due to misinformation or lack of information in a country where everything is strange to them?

A state of emergency has been declared in the country to restore law and order. Let’s pray, "May the emergency not throw cold water on the hopes of the people like the Bandipurites." In the present situation, the glimmering hope of reopening Notre Dame again as a Japanese school does not seem to bear fruit until the Maoists come with a substantial change in their view of assessing such schools or they are wiped off the face of Nepal.

Lessons from Argentine Crisis

By Anish Mani Dixit

Violent Argentine crowd turned berserk and took down to streets. They looted money from shop owners, ransacked public property and set ablaze many government installations. It is because they accused ruling government as a perpetrator for country’s economic commotion. But when the situation was out of control, government resorted with deployment of armed personnel. The State of Emergency was soon declared which cushioned violence but not before inflicting deaths to innocent human lives.

Argentina or Argentine Republic is currently reeling under serious domestic upheaval. The country’s poor run in the economy had started in the early 1980s. With hyperinflation growing at a rampant pace, people had found purchasing power of their currency dwindled quickly. Savings of people were wiped out. Price of goods and services soared up; exporters found few international buyers. In order to quell the then hyperinflation, government in 1991 introduced CBS, where one to one parity of Argentina’s Peso was made with US dollar. CBS arrangements necessitated that domestic currency Peso could only be issued to the extent that it was fully backed by the Central Bank’s holdings of US dollar. Soon government’s new monetary measure restored confidence and rejuvenated Argentine economy as rate of inflation and unemployment declined. But that period of celebration was only short-lived.

Argentina’s economy has been in recession for four years. Now lets us analyze why Argentina failed to live up to expectations of international financial community. First, Argentine currency was pegged with one of the strongest currencies of the world-dollar. Regardless of market fluctuations, Peso was fixed with dollar. Ostensibly, strong strength of Argentine currency and subsequent higher price for goods and services resulted in decline of its exports. European Union shut out Argentinean agro-exports because they could easily get cheap agricultural produce from other countries. But as was pointed out by Joseph Stiglitz, Professor of Economics at Columbia University and a prolific writer of The Economic Times, the then government in 1990s invited huge foreign investment for many banks of Argentina. It though stabilized banking system for a while but that foreign owned banks failed to lend money to small and medium sized firms. After initial euphoria of success of CBS which boosted economic growth, growth slowed, mainly because medium-sized firms of the country couldn’t get adequate finance.

The Asian Crisis of 1997 further damaged country’s economy. That financial crisis led to increase in interest rates for all emerging markets including Argentina. Soon high interest rates paralyzed the country’s budget. Government did what it shouldn’t have done. It borrowed heavily from abroad to finance its fiscal deficit. Consequently, Argentina’s debt service as a percentage of exports of goods and services increased phenomenally from 37% in 1990 to 76% in 1999.

Other Latin American countries like Brazil and Mexico were also dependent on heavily foreign borrowings but survived. It is because they were able to cut borrowings and raise exports. Brazil devalued its currency real in 1999 in order to check declining exports. But Argentina was unable to do so. It is because; government was committed to maintain 1:1 Peso-US dollar parity. After devaluation of real by Brazilian government, foreign investors and buyers found out that their dollars cold buy more in Brazil than in Argentina. As a result, buyers of Argentine wheat and beef dried up. Soon FDI no longer became Argentina’s legacy.

Russia bounced back from economic crisis in 1999. But no such luck favoured Argentina. It is the high wage rate of Argentina that made its products expensive. Other developing countries diversified from agriculture into industry using cheap labour. But again Argentina failed to do so. Argentina’s labour cost is very costly. Its neighbour and Mercosur trading partner, Brazil, increased its exports at the cost of Argentina A former easy access to cheap labour.

First, Argentina failed to keep inflation at around US levels which subsequently resulted in decline of exports. Second, Argentina is also a trading partner of Free Trade Area called Mercosur along with Brazil and Paraguay. While these trading partners devalued their currencies at the time of economic crisis, Argentina failed to do so because of its 1:1 parity commitment with US dollar. Lastly, unlike other countries, Argentina engaged in heavy foreign borrowings. Argentina now has devalued her currency by 40%. She has also defaulted her foreign debts.

Further, more problems were exposed to Argentine citizens-Many of the Argentine received pay-checks in peso but had borrowed money in dollars in order to finance their household expenditures and business dealings. As peso is devalued now, they will have to earn more pesos to repay their dollar debts. A weaker peso means that dollar debts are more difficult to pay. Subsequently, people rushed to banks and started withdrawing pesos in order to save the value of their currency. But, in order to do away with immediate crisis, government blocked citizens from withdrawing deposits above 1500 pesos a month. As a result, people resorted to violent means and vandalized public property in order to voice their continuous frustration and anger. In addition, thousands of sweating Argentines stood in long lines to buy US dollars to protect their savings.

Consequently, peso lost its strength with dollar and just recently it depreciated from one to one to 2.12 pesos for a dollar. A century ago, Argentina was the second richest country in the world. But, today, she ranks in the 58th position. With economic crisis enveloping the country, confidence of the investors has now been terribly shaken. Needless to say, it is the innocent Argentines who are the main sufferers.

Heritage tour
Ranipokhari : King’s tribute to his beloved

By Razen Manandhar

Love never dies. A mother can’t forget a young son’s untimely demise and a man, who loves his wife equally, cannot see her begrieved endlessly. That is the story behind the biggest artificial water body in the whole Kathmandu valley. This 332 year-old Ranipokhari has a love story to tell, apart from its historic, religious, social as well as physical importance. As it lies in the centre of the city today, people walk or drive along this everyday but they scarcely have time to look at the heritage, the legacy of the past.

This temple was constructed during the reign of king Pratap Malla who ruled the Kathmandu from 1660 to 1674 AD. Some believe that the pond was only a reconstruction over the ancient one and the king only expanded it and made systematic water inlets, so it is locally called "Nhoo Pukhoo", (i.e., the New Pond). When constructed, it was a tribute in the name of his youngest son Chakravartendra, who had died recently and a token of consolation to his wife, drown in sorrow. He had dedicated the pond area to Shiva, Parvati and Brahma, after bringing holy waters from 51 shrines of Nepal and India. "Whoever performs all the religious duties... after having taken his bath in this lake, will obtain the merits and rewards attaching to ... bathing in all the shrines," states the maker’s note.

Historians believe the pond’s area was quite bigger than now it is conserved with the help of ugly iron bars. Initially, it spread to the areas surrounded where lie today Narayan Hiti, Trichandra Campus, Kamalakshi, and Tebahal. The king also erected four huge stone inscriptions at Naachghar, by Seto Durbar and Nurses Hostel (but the last one is still undiscovered). Similary, he had four water spouts constructed at the four corners. One was found while constructing the sub-way at Bhotahity, the second was encroached by Ranipokhari Sports Team building, the third and fourth ones are probably be buried under the building of Nepal Electricity Authority, and around somewhere in Kingsway.

The pond was crowned with a Shiva temple in the middle, that was originally in Pagoda style, and bridged it with the pond periphery with a bridge from the western side. According to historic description of Oldfield, Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana pulled down and replaced them with ugly brick walls. But it is not known, whether the present temple was reconstructed by him or was renovated after the 1934 earthquake.

The present temple, opened only once a year on the day of Bhaitika, is made in Mughal-styled architecture. It has two stories and made in cube forms with latticed windows. There are bars around the first floor and are small domes on its four corners and a domed pinnacle is on the top.

It is surrounded by a low bar and gives a picturesque view of the water surface that bears a reflection of the neighboring college and the clock tower.

The pond was guarded by the statue of King Pratap Malla, riding a life-sized elephant from the southern side. He is accompanied by his son and the wife (or two sons). Behind the statue, there was a octagonal open rest-house, which is now disappeared.

Four simple temples are established at four corners of the pond. Among them, one is lumpishly decorated with red marble sheets where as the other two are prohibited from public visits. And one is lying neglected under the overhead crossing bridge. It is still unclear whether the temples were also made by the King Pratap Malla or they were later additions. Probably, the temples were is contributions but were ruined and later they turned into simple dome shaped shrines.

What so ever might have been the past, the King Pratap Malla might have ashamed of the present government if he say today’s Ranipokhari . Either government or the people with some rights in their hands — all are working days and nights to encroach the only beautiful water body in the city.

One after another, constructions like a city auditorium, Durbar School, an Education Administration Office, Seto Durbar, Clock Tower, Bir Hospital, Saraswati Sadan, Legal Reforms Commission, Zonal Commissioner’s Office, KMC’s office builiding, and Electricity Authority and many more. A Police post was added several years ago. There are over 80 small stalls arond the southen face of the historic pond.

Late though, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City has decided to demolish all the ugly structures at the south. That is undoubtedly a good step. But cautions must be there that the future of Rainpokhari may not follow the fortune of Sundhara Park and again the dream, KMC is selling, turn into a private party’s possession.

Ignored Terai forests

District Forest Office Siraha, has recently started an initiative to mobilise all the local stakeholders of Churia forest of the district in its bid for conservation and in benefit sharing. The entry point was a series of extension efforts which eventually culminated into formation of a local NGO constituting the representatives of the potential stakeholders extending as far as the Indian border.

By Jagadish Chandra Baral

While overwhelming concern has prevailed about the receding state of forests in the Terai, little new has actually been done to date to reverse the situation. This is in contrast to the hills where government has been more serious in the matter and there has also been wide range of support from host of donor agencies. As a consequence, community forestry has been practiced all over the hills, and this has been instrumental in reversing the degradation trend in this region. As for Terai forests, there are little re-considerations in terms of prevailing assumptions and with regards to figuring out more viable alternatives or options. The Department of Forest has continued its age-old practice of protecting the resource through patrolling, but with little signs of success.

Degraded Chure Forest in the Terai

High commercial value of the resource, easy access to the market, lack of alternative employment opportunities and lack of good supply arrangements for forest products in the local level, in totality, work against conservation. Lack of protection mechanism at the local level is one of the very important reasons why the efforts of the Department of Forests to start implementing scientific forest management plan (OFMP) has been a matter hard to imagine.

Encouraged by the state of regeneration of forests through community forestry in the hills, one would be tempted to suggest that community forestry could be replicated in the Terai as well. While the conceptual matters of community forestry may not be denied, there may be big question mark regarding its replicability in the Terai. In the hills, the communities and forest patches in which they depend are generally located next to each other in a sort of mosaic and hence the task of handing over is relatively a straight forward exercise. In the Terai, in contrast, the resources are concentrated towards the north and the most of the people who depend on the resource are placed in clusters up to miles away in the south. The matter gets further complicated due to the fact that the indigenous groups of people who depend on these resource may not be necessarily located close to the forests. They may have been displaced by new migrants from the hills, who migrated to the present area particularly after eradication of malaria in the 1960s. Handing over the forest resource to the groups of people residing near the forest raises both practical as well as ethical issues as a large number of indigenous people from a farther distance have little alternatives. A large tract of Chhatiwan forest (area 4000 ha) was handed over to a group of about 1600 households, most of them coming from Achham district in recent past. Indigenous ethnic Tharu communities have been affected by this handover.

Endeavours: Though talked about a lot, there are very few initiatives that have been meant for replenishing the forest of the Terai. The Terai Forestry Project (1985-1991) and community forestry project run under the Initiatives of CARE Nepal, are probably the major initiatives so far. While these projects were generally successful in establishing plantations or were able to replenish the isolated patches of forests near settlements, their contribution towards conserving natural tract of Terai forests has been minimal.

Other important initiatives have been from GTZ funded Chure Development Project in three districts of the Eastern Region. The project has been running for over a decade now and is instrumental in rejuvenating the peripheral forest resource lying near the settlements through community forestry. This well intended project has actually produced unintended outcomes. Handing over of community forestry in the fringe, in fact, has resulted in further degradation of extensive areas of the core part of Chure hills in the respective districts. This may be attributed to ‘pressure shift’ in which community of user groups purposefully stopped entry into the handed over tract of forestland and the consequence was that people diverted to the mainland Chure for meeting their day-to-day need of forest products. This has caused forest degradation more than ever before, despite the good intention.

More recent attempt of CARE has been extended to a couple of districts in the Central Development Region. The project emphasises on rehabilitation of fragile Chure hills and on improving the economic condition of people living in Chure. The idea is essentially inspired by the reasoning that improved economy would result in decreased dependence on forests, which, in turn, would bring about conservation. SNV, Nepal has started to undertake forest management initiatives in the Terai districts of the Central Development Region. The apparent focus here is on drawing and implementing scientific Operational Forest Management Plans with due consultation with local residents. The initiative carries a special significance in that the Operational Forest Management Plans drawn so far by the Department of Forests allegedly did little consultation with the local people and hence it would potentially affect their interests. The DIFID assisted community forestry project, after having a long experience in the hills, has recently ventured to embark on participative forestry programme in Nawalparasi, Rupandehi and Kapilbastu districts of Western Development Region. This initiative is noted for its ‘people centered’ focus than the ‘forest centered’ one. The project intends to improve the livelihood system of the local poor thereby managing the forest resource also at the same time.

District Forest Office Siraha, has recently started an initiative to mobilise all the local stakeholders of Churia forest of the district in its bid for conservation and in benefit sharing. The entry point was a series of extension efforts which eventually culminated into formation of a local NGO (Forests for the Benefit of All Stakeholders, FOBAS) constituting the representatives of the potential stakeholders extending as far as the Indian border.

It is encouraging to note that Terai has started to get attention of a number of interventionists. However, the problem is too complex and cannot be addressed by a ‘blue print’ approach. Only the experienced hands may start unfolding the valuable lessons in terms of achieving better forest management and better social equity. A ‘learning by doing’ philosophy as advocated in the action research may be the best way to proceed. It may however be emphasised that all those involved need to frequently sit together and learn from each other’s experience. Owing to the complexity of the task ahead, no one can be expected to be perfect at the outset while dealing with such situations. Let us hope that the current endeavour yields positive results and that the Terai region ‘the granary of the country’ could be saved from desertification. Let us also hope that we may have a chance to repeat the old Nepali proverb ‘Green forests are Nepal’s wealth’.