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The Nepal Digest Wed Jun 16, 1999: Ashadh 3 2056BS: Year8 Volume87 Issue5
Today's Topics (partial list):
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* TND (The Nepal Digest) Editorial Board *
* -------------------------------------- *
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* The Nepal Digest: General Information tnd@nepal.org *
* Co-ordinator: Rajpal JP Singh a10rjs1@mp.cs.niu.edu *
* Editor: Pramod K. Mishra pkm@acpub.duke.edu *
* Sports Correspondent: Avinaya Rana avinayar@touro.edu *
* Co-ordinating Director - Australia Chapter (TND Foundation) *
* Dr. Krishna B. Hamal HamalK@dist.gov.au *
* Co-ordinating Director - Canada Chapter (TND Foundation) *
* Anil Shrestha SHRESTHA@CROP.UOGUELPH.CA *
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* TND Foundation: http://www.nepal.org tnd@nepal.org *
* WebSlingers: Open Position tnd@nepal.org *
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* +++++ Food For Thought +++++ *
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* "Heros are the ones who give a bit of themselves to the community" *
* "Democracy perishes among the silent crowd" -Sirdar_Khalifa *
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Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1999 23:54:41 -0500
To: The Editor <nepal-request@cs.niu.edu>
From: Janak Koirala <jkoirala@uic.edu>
Subject: Press Release
Annual Convention of America Nepal Medical Foundation
Chicago, June 14, 1999.
America Nepal Medical Foundation (ANMF) successfully held its third
annual convention on June 12-13 at University of Illinois, Chicago, USA.
It was attended by about fifty participants representing various medical
organizations in the United States, American physicians and other
volunteers who have worked in Nepal, and Nepalese physicians who are
currently in the United States. The participants came from all over the
country, from Rhode Island to California. One of the participants, Dr. S.
K. Rai, represented Nepal with the kind support of Interplast, USA. The
theme of the conference this year was - " Coordinating Efforts to
Strengthen Medical Care in Nepal".
His Excellency D. P. Gautam, Nepalese ambassador to USA, also graced the
occasion by his heartfelt plea that, " Wherever you are, just keep a
flicker of love to your country". Keynote speaker Dennis Brimhall,
President, University Hospital, University of Colorado, Denver,
illustrated how a small effort in cutting down the extravaganza in one
U.S. hospital can generate an amount almost enough to run the entire
health care system of Nepal. He also praised the hardworking Nepalese
physicians who he said seemed to be happy with what little facilities
they had.
Besides Dr. David Dingman from Interplast, Nancy Blum from U.S.
Pharmacopia, Donald Copley from Buffalo, New York, Brendan Thomson from
Arizona Nepal Medical Society, Shyam Karki from Rochester, New York, and
Dr. Maheswor Baidhya from United Hands to Nepal also presented their work
in Nepal. The ANMF Board Chairman Dr. Donald Blair presented the
experience of ANMF gained from organising its first CME in Nepal. Dr. S.
K. Rai gave his views from the Nepalese perspective.
ANMF was founded three years ago by the joint efforts of American and
Nepalese physicians, and other volunteers who were interested to help
improve the health care system of Nepal. The foundation has been sending
books and journals to the medical school library in Nepal, and useful
equipments to Nepalese hospitals. It also organized a CME ( continuing
medical education ) program for Nepalese physicians in Nepal last fall,
and plans to do it every year. Dr. Gaury Adhikari is the current
president of ANMF. You can visit ANMF on the internet at
<underline>http://www.mednetsystems.com/anmf/> .
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From: "Prakash Bhandari" <PRAKASH@HBL.COM.NP>
To: NEPAL@cs.niu.edu
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 10:37:23 +0545, NST
Subject: Article for TND
THE ROLE OF AVIATION IN NATIONAL ECONOMY
- Prakash Bhandari
No country can deny the multi-sectoral role in formation of national
economy. In other words, economy as a whole can not be regulated and
sustained depending only on a sole factor. It seems to be really true
in country like Nepal. Nepal has to rely on so many factors for
strengthening its national economy and its stability as well. Among
these unavoidable factors,Aviation is one.
There are so many factors reflecting the status of national economy.
It's not matter that only the stock of foreign currency is the sole
determinant of national economy; Besides this, the level of per-capita
income, opportunity and level of employment, development condition of
other sectors and so many other factors reflect the economic condition
of any nation. So all these factors, combined together form national
economy as a whole.
Existing employment position of any country reflects the income level
of people, income level of people reflects purchasing power and
purchasing power reflects the status of national economy. On the other
hand, level of pe-capita-income indicated the level of national
income and level of total national income indicate the development
tasks as well as multi sectoral development like the development in
the field of roads, hospitals, telecommunications, education etc.All
these factors are inter-related into each other and are the backbones
of any economy. So, while talking about the role of aviation in
national economy as a whole, we should not ignore the role played by
aviation in relation to the creation and development of employment
opportunities , in relation to the foreign currency earning, in
relation to the increment in national income, in relation to the other
sectoral development and in relation to the government revenue as
well. The role of aviation in regards to these sectors are not only in
positive forms but also it may have some negative role in
these sectors. Specially, aviation may have prominent role
in connection to the socio-economic, socio-cultural and
socio-environmental conditions. While talking about the role, both of
these aspects are to be taken into consideration.
Aviation has been playing an important role to strengthen the national
economy since its early days of operation. Actually civil aviation in
Nepal come into existence in early 1950s. In that time, the revolution
in the field of transportation was brought by aviation. When National
flag carrier RNAC had started its service in 1958, then the
inaccessible regions of country were translated into accessible one.
Huge amount of money and time could be saved through this service.
Though the services were only for domestic sectors, RNAC had most
help for the economic organs. Transportation of goods and
services,technical apparatus, educational materials and
nedicines became easy and the economic life of people was felt to
be changed. After the commencement of foreign services by
RNAC,tourists started to enter the nation. Total tourist
arrival between the period 1881 B.S to 1925 B.S was only 150
in numbers. But after the commencement of foreign sector service by
RNAC, this number increased and reached 4017 in 1960 B.S.Currently
RNAC is operating 35 domestic service and 13 foreign serves in 10
countries. Besides this, private sector airlines are also in operation
both in domestic and foreign sector. The role played by aviation in
the form of all these services is the matter of interest of this
article.
Now+a+days, these air services are playing prominent role for the
promotion of employment opportunity, for the increment of foreign
currency, for the other sector development and for thecollection of
Government revenue through the development of tourism sector. Tourism
is the highly contributive sector for national economy after
merchandise export; and aviation is the soul of tourism. Out of total
tourist about 90 percent arrive by aeroplane. This statistics proves
how important is the role of aviation in tourism sector. As has been
stated above, in this way, aviation plays prominent role for the
promotion of national economy domestically and for the promotion of
a national economy through the promotion of tourism as well.
ROLE OF DOMESTIC SECTOR ECONOMY
Role of domestic based aviation in national economy is taken in this
sector. In other words, domestic air serves haveworth+notable impact
in national economy and this impact is outlined under this heading.
As has already been discussed, the economy doesn't consist only one of
the factor . The sub+sectors of national life has also worthy role in
formation of strong economy. As for example, if air service are not in
operation, then the many parts of Nepal will be beyond the contact
with capital. This means the delivery of pedagogic, health+care,and
other kinds of goods is impossible. In turn,they have to spend more
and more money and time to acquire those services. Such huge amount of
money and time, if saved, can be used in development efforts. In this
way, we can visualise the indirect role played by aviation for
strengthening the national economy.
Besides this, the fruit of development should be equally distributed
among people. Supply of foods,medicines,educational materials,
improved seeds, technologies and other important factors of economy
should be distributed in all part of the country on equal basis.
Otherwise, the demarcation among the people is enlarged. In this
connection too, aviation sector is affiliating to strengthen the
national economy as a whole.RNAC and other private sector airlines
are providing this service to the nation.
>From the other aspect too, we can be confirmed about the inevitable
role of aviation in Nepal. It's true that in some parts of the
country, other kinds of transportation can not be operated. If there
is no air service, it means there is no arts of the country, other
kinds of transportation can not be operated. If there is no air
service, it means there is no means of transportation, there is no
delivery of goods,medicines and other kinds of necessary apparatus
for smooth pass of life.There will be no new and improved seeds, no
modified technologies , no fertilizers and no developed humane
facilities. In other words, such areas will be remained within their
own boundary, within their own customs, within their own economic
condition and more than these, within their own capacity and
knowledge. Due to these all reasons, the productivity of both land and
persons(labour) can not be increased.
It is needless to say that productivity is the back+bone of national
economy and specially in Nepal, all economic development depends upon
he productivity of land and labour. This is because our country mostly
depends upon the agriculture sector. In other words, our main factors
of production are labour and land. Aviation sector can increase their
productivity by making access the transformation of knowledge,
technologies,and basic humane-needs from developed areas to remote
areas. By increasing productivity, aviation help to increase income
which ultimately leads for the strengthening the economic condition of
any nation through increment in national income as a whole.
ROLE OF FOREIGN SECTOR AVIATION
It was for the first time in 1968, the international air serves was
started in Nepal from Thai Airways. Currently, more than couple dozen
foreign airlines are in operation. So as,RNAC is also operating its
services to more than dozen cities of more than dozen countries. From
the beginning of foreign air service, aviation sector has been playing
vital role for the smooth development of national economy.
As has been said many time in above paragraphs, the role played by
foreign sector aviation is also counted in term of employment
opportunity they created, foreign currency earning and multi sectoral
development they made. The vast role of aviation sector in the
development of stated areas seems in high quantity from the previous
days of aviation life in Nepal.
Aviation in Nepal has been helping in promotion of tourism.Most of
the tourists come in Nepal through air transport and needless to say
that tourism sector is the second greatest sector to earn foreign
currency after merchandise export. This facts are reflected in many
economical publication also. So,indirectly, aviation sector is
playing an important role in relation to the earning of foreign
currency through promotion of tourism.
During the period 1962+72, on an average 148,000 tourists had entered
from abroad and among them 85% were air-tourist.During 1972+82, this
percentage increased on 86% and during 1982-92 the percentage of
tourist arriving through air transport remained as 86.1%. In this way
, for the promotion of tourist trade in Nepal,aviation sector has
performed prominent performance. By stating all these facts, it
isuseless to say that the earning of total foreign currencies from
tourism sector is due to the role played by aviation .Studies show
that about 2% of total GDP and about 10 % of total foreign currency
earning are from the aviation sector.
In this way, tourism plays prominent role in earning foreign currency
and the aviation is the heart of tourism in a country like Nepal. This
unavoidable facts also reflect the role of aviation in foreign
currency earning. It's worthless to note the importance of foreign
currency in economic development.
The other important role of aviation can be experienced from its share
in creating employment opportunity and in creating the man-power for
economic sustainability. It pushes up the employment condition through
the development of tourism-sub-sectors like hotels, restaurants,
reserves, parks, and tele-communications in one hand, and in another
hand, to render the efficient service for tourist, it opens the chance
of training also. These ultimately results the creation of trained
man-power and more employment opportunities. In one of the official
reports, it has been stated that, about 20% of total tourism
sector-employment has been created by airlines directly.
In an another report of ESCAP, on an average, 0.18%of total
economically active population are being engaged in aviation sector.
Besides this, as has already been described,aviation sector has mass
scale role in promotion of tourism and tourism support industries and
entire result of increment of such industries is the increments of the
employment opportunities and increment of man+power that is necessary
to strengthen the national economy.
The role of aviation can also be highly noted by showing
the employment+investment ratio in this sector. This ratio shows that
investment worth of RS.51.3 thousands generate employment opportunity
for one person. In other words, the ratio is 1: 51.3.
So as the gross output employment ratio in this sector is RS.382.9
:1. In other words, worth of Rs 382.9 thousand output is produced by 1
person in aviation sector . These ratios in other sectors are 288.8 :1
in travel agencies and 73.3;1 in trekking sector.
Output+Investment ratio in aviation sector is shown as 1.79 :1i.e.
worth of Rs. 1.79 is produced by investing 1 Rupee. All these ratios
clearly indicate the impact of aviation in national economy as a
whole.
Indirectly, the promotion of tourism inspire to preserve environment,
natural and cultural heritage and our own art and culture. The sectors
are not taken as economic sector directly but their role to sustain
the national economy can not be ignored. In this connection too, role
of aviation is highly notable.
The another key measuring rod of role of any sector in national
economy is its contribution to promote government revenue. If
government has revenue in large extent, then the development tasks can
also be operated. Nepal is covered with natural colourful flora and
fauna, panoramic show caped himalayas, agreeable climate and other
kinds of natural heritages. All these matters attract the tourists. If
there is no aviation, then the meaning of all these heritage is
worthless.But due to the aviation service, tourists travel to this
country and the govt can obtain proper chance to collect its revenue
through royalty fees and other charges.
Statistics show that in 1978, total of Rs 614,000 was collected only
from mountaineering and expedition sector. In 1989, Rs 73585000 was
earned only from Annapurna conservation Area Project. Besides this, in
1988 $4.8 Million was earned from trekking sectors. In this way
aviation has become the most important source of govt revenue.
By the rising of aviation sector, the chance to export goods and
services has also been created . The service of our national flag
carrier RNAC to about 15 cities and the services of more that 2 dozens
of foreign airlines have opened the country for tourists. This
opening create the recognition of nation and its specialities to
foreigners, which in turn open the door of export of goods and
services to abroad. It is needless to say that such tendency may
create the huge amount of export. Clearly, excess exports over imports
is the indicator of favourable balance of payment.
The other important factor for the development of a national economy
is the transfer of technology and no doubt, sole medium of transfer of
technology is aviation.
Apart from all these role played by foreign based aviation,the role
of aviation is highly noticed in the development of other such sectors
of economy as roads, transportation, tele+communication, human+power
and most important sector of economy the "National Unity". In this
way, aviation plays multi+dimensional economic developmental role in
the nation.
Up to now, we only focused our attention towards the positiverole
played by aviation sector. But aviation is also becoming a cause for
the devastation of national economy through developing demonstration
effect, through increment in imports of luxurious goods, through
vanishing our own technology in which we can enjoy self reliance and
through degrading the socio+environmental and socio+cultural condition
as well. Not only these, our capable man+power are also transferring
to abroad. Such flight of man+power(Brain Drain) is the grave
sorrowful
matter for any nation. More ever, and most important too, our most of
the income from aviation/tourism sector is spent to import goods and
services for tourists from abroad.According to a study, about 31% of
income from tourism sector go back for import of goods and services
for tourists. Socio+cultural and environmental impact of aviation can
not be realised in short term but its effect in national economy
will be deeply visualized in the long run.
Though aviation has some above stated negative role, it helps to
increase foreign currencies, to create and develop employment
opportunities, it opens the multi sectoral development, makes easy to
travel and to lift the cargo, and tenders the basic services like
postal services and more ever,helps to transfer technology. These all
sectors are the backbones of economy. So by observing the role played
and playing by aviation for the development of all these sectors, as
has been described above , we can't neglect its positive impact
on national economy.
With Best Regards,
Prakash Bhandari
Himalayan Bank Ltd. ~ E-mail: prakash@hbl.com.np |
Tridevi Marg, Thamel ~ |
P.O.Box.20590 ~ Ph.: 977-01-227749/ 977-01-227756|
Kathmandu ~ |
NEPAL ~ Fax:977-01-241979/ 977-01-222800 |
~ |
*****************************************************************************
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 08:16:18 -0700
From: "Niraj B. Shrestha" <nbshrest@SEAS.GWU.EDU>
To: A10RJS1@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Kathmandu Post Review of Books
Source: The Kathmandu Post, 13 June 1999
AN AUTHORITATIVE COMMENTARY
Nepal's Failed Development:
Reflections on the Mission and the Maladies
By Devendra Raj Panday
Published by Nepal South Asia Centre, Kathmandu, 1999, Rs. 350
by Swarnim Wagle
The verdict of Devendra Raj Panday’s voluminous new book is that Nepal
has failed in its experiment with
development. This failure, he asserts, transcends the economist’s
mundane indicators like GDP per capita,
asphalt roads, indebtedness, hospital beds, or tax revenue to strike at
the very heart of national self-esteem
and social integrity, and our ability to nurture a young democracy. Had
the judge behind this verdict not
been an illustrious political economist, one might have been tempted to
dismiss the book as an idealistic
intellectual tirade against a country’s troubled efforts to prosper
against improbable odds. But Panday is a
recognised heavy-weight, and when he speaks, one is forced to listen.
The book's zealously argued case as well as its cogent mix of chintan,
manthan and ganthan thus merit
scrutiny, and a humanitarian hearing. A collection of intelligent,
articulate, informed, and generally
pessimistic essays, Nepal’s Failed Development trumpets an unpleasant
message: hang on, we have had
isolated and disjointed successes, but, overall, things have really not
been that great all these years, and
maybe it is time to rethink a bit to regain the lost honour that we, as
a proud nation, might have once
commanded; but, against a backdrop of "failed" development and the
national psyche it bruised, we are not
so sure of this either. It is easy for us to be swayed to be convinced
in the current climate of unease,
without having to probe deeper into the facts and the circumstances,
that we have failed. What will be more
difficult, however, is to do justice to the resourcefulness of this
intensely well-read author’s 400 pages of
authoritative musing, and then confirm the foregone conclusion. The
greater the number of readers who do
this, the grander will be the compliment paid to this book.
The author is conscious, right from the first chapter, that the word
"failure" is a strong one; he regularly
positions himself on the defensive, realising that he will not be able
to get away with flimsy premises. He has
thus done a fine job introducing a difficult case convincingly in the
inaugural section. The second chapter
takes up the figures, which are allowed to speak for themselves. Chapter
four charts the evolution of the
"idea and practice of development." Drawing heavily on the works of
well-known social scientists, Panday
impresses and dazzles with his grasp of this important subject. His
discussion of the cognitive state of
development in Nepal is illuminating; he thinks we have always known
what needed to be done, but ideas
were seldom translated into results. His reporting on the global
"illusion of innovation” in development
policy is similarly persuasive. Panday is unusually skilful in
identifying the core of the synthesis of arguments
and plucking it out for intelligent scrutiny. The diverse citations,
ranging from works by Harvard economists
to Kathmandu journalists, also speak highly of the liberal, non-dogmatic
frame of his mind.
Panday is formidable when he discards the uncomfortable compulsion to
appear academic, and discusses
morals and principles, as in chapter three. He fully understands what it
would mean to uphold integrity and
live a dignified life in a democracy. He is thus palpably agitated by
what he sees as the gradual erosion in
the values the nation was once identified with, such as honesty and hard
work, for example. He calls this an
"unanticipated consequence of engaging in development". Although the
author frequently resorts to passion
and literary craft to hammer home a series of points, this section
provides an interesting evaluation of the
state of the country's civil movements.
Chapter five offers a good synopsis of domestic political events.
Although his premature resignation as
Secretary of Finance in 1980 precluded an insider's perspective on the
workings of the Panchayat regime
in its final turbulent decade, his discourse on the political, economic
and international dimensions that led to
the rise and fall of this polity is particularly authoritative. A robust
social democrat with puritanical leanings,
Panday holds that, "no development effort can be called a success if the
domain in which it takes place is
devoid of democracy." His frustration with the culture emerging behind
political notoriety - even after the
transition in 1990 - is thus reasonably justified. While his own
transformation during this period, from being
a well-liked finance minister to an unsuccessful politician, is itself
an example of the unpredictable rudeness
of political cyclones, he has the authority to complain about the
excesses.
Chapter six, on external affairs and influence, is probably the book’s
finest. What he has written on the
predicaments of a poor country "locked" by an unsympathetic neighbour is
crisp, without sounding
excessively patriotic. He ponders a bit on a range of loosely connected
themes in the final chapter. He is
sceptical on the extent of the benefits Nepal may be able to extract
from instruments of globalisation like
the WTO. He discusses corruption after dealing a heavy blow to donors
and the government by discussing
critically the perverted ways that aid resource and priorities have
often been guided. He, of course, speaks
like a victim, when he does not shy away from claiming how foreign money
has been used to co-opt and
spoil humble indigenous traits. If one of Nepal’s foremost analysts of
the aid regime sneers and says,
“running an aid programme is different from running a colony”, he'd best
be heard. On managing the
constitutional process, Panday’s plea to the parties to commit
themselves to, at least, fulfilling the Directive
Principles and Policies of the State as stipulated in the constitution
is a sombre request, indeed. He has also
reserved some sincere advice for the king.
There is a reason why this reviewer has discussed the virtues of the
book in fragments. Each chapter is a
fine monograph, in itself, dealing with the individual subjects with
linguistic flair. But there is an unsettling
paradox here. The seven brilliant chapters, when put together, like a
neat algebraic equation, fail to
produce a brilliant book. Weakened by the independent strength of its
own chapters, the book's whole, if
you will, is less than the sum of its parts. This is because it lacks a
conceptual focus. Panday is
unnecessarily loquacious. He hunts for arguments, but often wanders
distractingly, diluting the sharpness of
the discourse necessary to support a tough case. The discussions do not
always connect with the central
theme of "failed development", and attempts to logically link the two
are distant. It has become therefore a
book of good essays instead of a good book with essays.
This would still have been fine, if it did not mean that the theorem of
"failed development" remained
incomplete. This small sin is, however, overshadowed by a holier goal.
Panday wants to upset the design of
the status quo in Nepal. It will be a pity if his clarion call for
progressive change in all spheres of national life
goes unheard. These are, after all, reflections of a very experienced
man, and wisdom, they say, is the
daughter of experience. What one need not doubt, after reading this
book, is that Devendra Raj Panday
has proved himself to be possibly one of South Asia’s finest
commentators writing in English today. His
wise creation, Nepal’s Failed Development, is certain to be judged not
only as an insightful assistance to
comprehend this diversely peopled land of ours, but it will also stay as
an influential work in the art of
debate and commentary.
(S. Wagle is a student of economics, politics and history)
Source: The Kathmandu Post, 13 June 1999
Recent Arrivals
Rama Parajuli
PANIKO PURKHYAULI GYAN, ed. Kedar Sharma (1999, Panos Institute South
Asia) is a collection
of oral testimonies (OT) related to water in Nepal. Most of the 13 OTs
were collected by journalists
Sangita Lama and Ghamaraj Luintel, with the editor Sharma contributing
one. The thirteen elderly
story-tellers were met in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Sindhupalchowk, Chitwan
and Nawalparasi. They share
various stories of traditional water use and management systems,
knowledge of which was acquired from
their ancestors and experience. Written in their own words (with slight
editing), this book will of use to
those interested in our past and those with the responsibility to plan
our future, as well as the communities
from which the protagonists have come.
STUDIES IN NEPALI HISTORY AND SOCIETY (vol. 3, no. 1, 1998, Mandala Book
Point) is finally
out. This delayed issue contains five articles: Sherry B. Ortner's "The
making and Self-Making of 'The
Sherpas' in Early Himalayan Mountaineering"; Jagannath Adhikari and
Hans-Georg Bhole's "Rural
livelyhoods at Risk: Determinants of the Abilities of Nepali Hill
Farmers to Cope with Food Deficiency";
Mark Lichty's "The Social Practice of Cinema and Video-Viewing in
Kathmandu"; Mahesh Maskey's
"Jana Andolanma Chikitsakharu: Smritima Korieko Eauta Andolan-Katha"(in
Nepali) and Pratyoush
Onta's "A Suggestive History of the First Century of Photographic
Consumption in Kathmandu".
FORESTRY AND KEY ASIAN WATERSHEDS by A. K. Myint & T. Hofer (1998,
International
Centre for Integrated Mountain Development) is a background document for
Asia Pacific Forestry
Outlook. The study defines the role of forestry in watersheds of six
major rivers of this region: Indus,
Ganges, Brahmaputra, Mekong, Yangtze and Yellow rivers. Besides many
other things prospects for
forestry around the year 2010 assuming various scenarios are predicted.
CHILDREN AND TRADITIONAL CASTE EMPLOYMENT IN SIRAHA DISTRICT, NEPAL by
Jasmine Rajbhandari, Gita Karki and Keith D. Leslie (1999, Save the
Children US and INHURED
International) is a case study of traditional caste employment scenario
in Siraha district. The study is
focused on seven "lower" caste groups: Musahar, Dom, Chamar, Badhi
Thakur, Nauwa Thakur, Mallaha
and Yadav. It concludes that the traditional caste employment system not
only exists today but will continue
to exist for generations.
FODDER AND PASTURE DEVELOPMENT IN NEPAL by Rameshwar Singh Pande (1997,
Uday
Research and Development Services) reviews most of the research done on
fodder and pasture
development in Nepal. It analyzes the problems that arise due to lack of
scientific knowledge on fodder
material and suggests suitable species/cultivars for different regions
in Nepal. Since Nepal is an agricultural
country, such research can be useful to policy makers but for wider
consumption, it will have to be written
up in Nepali and be available at prices less than Rs 850!
NAYARAJ PANT: NEPALKA SUKARAT, ed Shesraj Shibakoti (1999, Gyangun
Sahitya Prakashan &
Advance International Model School) is a collection of essays by 22
known writers related to Nayaraj
Pant, a veteran historian and teacher. While different writers have
highlighted various aspects of Pant's long
academic career, all have mentioned his devotion to knowledge and his
resoluteness in the face of much
adversity. History buffs and those interested in the history of Nepali
academia will find this book to be
useful although its letter-press print leaves a lot to be desired.
COALITION GOVERNMENTS AND POLITICAL ACCULTURATION IN GERMANY by Suresh
C Chalise (1998, Centre for Consolidation of Democracy) is a study of
stable coalition governments in
Germany. It tells how parties with different ideologies, values and
norms have come together to successfully
run coalition governmens. As such it offers lessons to Nepali
politicians and political analysts who consider
coalition governments to be inherently unstable and ineffective.
TATKAL DOCTOR NAVHAYAMA by Dr.Bishnu Prasad Pandit (1999, Mrs. Sabitri
Pandit) is a
"medical book for nonmedical readers." It is a useful reference for
those who want to learn about the
causes and remedies of various diseases that afflict human beings.
***********************************************************************************************
***********************************************************************************************
POLLINATION MANAGEMENT OF MOUNTAIN CROPS THROUGH BEE KEEPING by Uma
Pratap (1999, ICIMOD) is a trainers' resource book that deals with the
process of pollination among
mountain crops. Mountain crops are deprived of fruit because of
inadequate pollination; if pollination is
done with the hive bee, the result would be fruitful. The book is
illustrated well.
Source: The Kathmandu Post, 13 June 1999
Coping with food insecurity
Food Crisis in Nepal: How Mountain Farmers Cope
By Jagannath Adhikari and Hans-Georg Bohle
Adroit Publishers, Delhi, 1999
By Anil Baral
Rickety children, frail, sick and hungry people. It's not a grisly scene
from Ethiopia, but from the remote
hills in Nepal. The underlying cause: food deficit. In places like Humla
and Jumla, food production hardly
meets the basic requirement of the people for three months of the year.
Food insecurity was and is still a
big problem in Nepal. "In the face of chronic food shortages, rural
households with little or no access to
natural resources have been following multiple survival strategies
throughout the history of Nepali nation
state," write Jagannath Adhikari and Hans-Georg Bohle in the opening
sentence of their book. In the past,
migration was a chief mechanism to offset the problems of food
insecurity. People from the hills migrated to
British India (and later India and Britain) to serve in the army and to
the Tarai once malarai was controlled.
Though strategies adopted by vulnerable households have now diversified,
intra-country and inter-country
migration remains the primary coping mechanism against food and
livelihood insecurity in Nepal's hills.
Food Crisis in Nepal: How Mountain Farmers Cope is a micro level study
of food insecurity in four
different villages (Lachok-Riban, Siding, Karuwa-Kapuche and Sikles) of
Kaski District in the central hill
region of Nepal. The authors identify important determinants of
vulnerability to food crisis faced by rural
poor and enumerate their coping mechanisms. They also shed some light on
the historical and
socio-political structure of Nepal as a whole in order to examine
closely how livelihood patterns have
evolved in response to food shortages.
According to P. Blaikie, "Vulnerability describes characteristics of a
person or group in terms of their
capacity to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from the impact of
natural hazards." A complex set of
determinants affect vulnerability and they combine in different ways for
each and every household. These
include: access to resources, ecological setting, accessibility to
transport, market opportunities, availability
of common property resources, family size and composition, ethnicity,
gender, social network, education,
and political assertiveness. The households who are fortunate enough to
have access to resources and
political & social networks are generally able to cope with food crisis.
Out of the above mentioned determinants, the authors argue that personal
assets (health and age of family
members) are important determinants of how poor households with low
level of access to ecological &
political assets cope with food insecurity. Wage labor, animal
husbandry, service in foreign countries, selling
bamboo products and other agricultural products like potato and weaving
fiber clothes are common coping
strategies to secure livelihood. It is interesting to note that every
household chooses a combination of these
strategies as a way to fulfill its needs.
One important feature of the book is the modification of the Access
Model as a framework for the analysis
of food crisis and livelihood insecurity in Nepal. Access Model puts
much emphasis on access to
social-political (power) structure as the most important factor in
determining vulnerability to food shortage.
This model puts little emphasis on determinants related to the
ecological system. However, the results from
the study suggest that ecological settings also play an important role
in shaping the access profile of
households. Accordingly, the authors have modified the Access Model by
incorporating ecological setting
as one of the prominent indicators of vulnerability to food insecurity.
The book tries to give a general picture of the food crisis in Nepal
based on the study done in some villages
of the middle hills. However it can be argued that the profile of food
insecutiry in far western areas such as
Humla and Jumla are different. These areas have suffered from chronic
food shortages for a long time.
While the food security problems identified from this study may equally
be applicable to Humla and Jumla,
ignoring specific problems of the latter areas would not make any study
on the food crisis in Nepal
complete. In this regard, "Food crisis in the middle hills of Nepal"
would have been a more precise title of
this book.
The National Planning Commission is preparing a "Special Area
Development Plan" for 25 districts of
Nepal that are most prone to food insecurity. Though the book itself has
not outlined specific policy
measures, planners may take clues from its results to determine how the
food insecurity problem in those
districts might be tackled.
(A. Baral likes to read a wide range of subjects)
Source: The Kathmandu Post, 13 June 1999
Book Clubs: The Time Has Come!
by Pratyoush Onta
Low print runs and hassles related to distribution have held back the
publishing industry in Nepal. In a
market dominated by text-books and how-to-do-this-or that-books (this
would have been obvious to
anyone who visited the book fair organized in Kathmandu earlier this
month), most general books - fiction
or non-fiction - have a print run of 1000 copies. These copies too are
not very easily available in the
bookshops all over the country. This situation gives birth to a set of
double complaints: authors and
publishers complain that not enough Nepalis buy books (and hence the low
print runs); readers, on the
other hand, complain that what they want to read is not easily available
to them (this is especially true of
readers based in areas other than Kathmandu). This situation has been
with us for quite a few years and it
is time that some new initiatives be tried to overcome it.
A book club might be one such initiative. Such clubs have played a
pivotal role in boosting the publishing
industry in Europe and America and in facilitating readers' access to
books in an easy and cheap manner.
The idea has been recently implemented in India but examples of such
clubs do not yet exist in large
numbers in the whole of South Asia. However, that is no reason to not
give it a try in our country.
What are book clubs and how could they boost the publishing industry in
Nepal? Like in other clubs,
individuals become members of a book club by paying a certain annual
membership fee. In return, the club
offers them a number of books at about half their published price every
month. In so doing, the club
provides a service for which it also makes nominal profit and the reader
is better off for obvious reasons.
How is this possible?
To answer this question, I take recourse to an article by Ravi Vyas
published in The Telegraph (Calcutta,
30 October 1998). According to him, the pricing mechanism of books works
out something like this, "In
commercial pricing, the unit cost is multiplied at least five times to
fix the price. For example, if the cost is
Rs 10, the price would be at least Rs 50. After allowing for a trade
discount of say 35 per cent and the
author's royalty of 10 per cent, the publisher can expect a gross margin
of 40 per cent, if all copies are
sold. The cost depends on the print run: the higher the number the lower
the unit cost." The book clubs
enter the scene here. Its manager checks out the forthcoming titles and
places an order of X copies of
books that seem to match the interest of his club members. After
receiving such a demand, the publisher
increases his print runs and lowers his cost of production per unit. He
can then offer the club unit cost plus
40 per cent. In the example cited earlier, the price offered to the book
club would be Rs 14 with the retail
price still at Rs 50. The club in turn can charge its members Rs 25 for
the book, postage extra. There are,
of course, certain conditions that need to be met by the club for this
scheme to work. For instance, it can
not flood the retail market with copies that it can not sell to its
members or expect the publisher to buy
back the unsold copies.
In the Indian case, Vyas concedes that there are at least three glitches
that would hinder the workings of a
book club. Firstly, outside the dominant educational market in India, he
says "the demand has never been
very high despite the hype about Indian writing in English." Secondly he
adds, publishers will give "book
club rights for titles about which they are not too sure; for potential
winners, they would not because it cuts
into their margins of profit." Finally, Vyas writes that if a book club
is to succeed, it "has to offer a wide
choice month after month: fiction, reference works, popular science,
history/politics/contemporary affairs
for the intelligent reader but not too academic and so on. No Indian
publisher can procide the fare." To
overcome the last glitch in our case, the book club will have to offer
books from numerous publishers.
Additionally, in our own case, there are more glitches that might stunt
the growth of such book clubs. We
have a postal system that is not even half as competent as its Indian
counterpart. However our internal
private courier service industry is beginning to deliver packages rather
efficiently. The long-distance
telephonic communication system within Nepal that might be considered an
infrastructural requirement for
such a club is already there in place. In other works, a book club with
members reachable by the road
networks and supported through a series of intermediaries (say
bookshops, courier agencies, etc.) could
be viable in Nepal.
Initial initiative necessary to support such a club could be generated
from the non-governmental sector.
After all, many community library and literacy projects have been run by
this sector in the past. With
respect to funding, some bikase funds could be tapped into initially. If
something like a National Book
Development Council is established by the government (one of the demands
made by the book-sellers and
publishers conference held in December 1998) soon, it could in turn
provide financial support to
autonomous book clubs. If we do not want to expect too much from the
government then the private
sector should get its act together and set up a National Book Publishing
Trust. It has been estimated that
the private sector book market in Nepal is at least 100 crores annually.
If it can separate 0.5 per cent (50
lakhs) or 1 per cent (1 crore) of that amount every year to support such
a Trust, it can not only support
book clubs and exhibitions but also activities that honor writers,
editors and translators.
There will be difficulties to surmount but not to try out the idea of
book clubs in Nepal at this juncture
seems to be an option that bows down to the current devils of the
distribution network. In the last instance,
books need to reach the readers if they are to be read.
*******************************************************
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 12:48:43 -0500 (CDT)
From: Mahesh Kumar Gurung <mgurun1@uic.edu>
To: The Nepal Digest <NEPAL@cs.niu.edu>
Subject: Re: The Nepal Digest - June 10, 1999 (27 Jestha 2056 BkSm)
Dear Editor,
After a very long time (>1year), I'm getting this issue of TND. What
happened? My concern here is please DO NOT forget people on the regular
TND mailing list. Its good to be back on stage and read different views of
different Nepalese people. After all, we are a diverse bunch as much as
anywhere else.
Hope TND will be regular again.
Mahesh Kumar Gurung
University of Illinois at Chicago
Department of Biological Sciences MC/066
845 W Taylor Street
Chicago, 60607.
Work (Phone): (312) 996-5440
Fax: (312) 413-2435
****************************************************************
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 11:43:10 -0600
From: "Umesh Giri" <ugiri@uswest.com>
To: NEPAL@cs.niu.edu
Subject: About Paramendra Bhagat's letter
I read your letter to your college friend. It was very nice to know
about your childhood story. After reading your letter, I'm wondering
what your friend has learned about Nepal. Of course, we have so many
problems from terai to himal but that does not mean we don't have any
good things in Neapl to talk about. If you are a true Nepali, you should
be proud to talk about Nepal and its beauty and our culture. It is very
unfortunate to know that you share the same garbage with strangers that
you dump in TND. All the internal issues regarding racism,
discrimination, poverty, etc. are the common problems of all Nepalese.
These are not regional or personal problems and we all should fight
against these issues. Racism is all over Nepal and it is not limited
among pahade and madhise. Please note that one does not have to be a
pahade to be a racist. It is very easy to bring divisions among
different ethnic groups but we can not solve this problem without unity.
>From time to time India has given Nepal and Nepalese a lot of troubles.
Most of the Nepalese have this impression (if you don't know yet) and
preaching about your fatherland means nothing to us. Besides, where in
the world did you get those data about 50% madhise? Could you please
provide source to TND readers? Otherwise, please don't write the same
thing (garbage data) over and over again!
There is not a single political party in Nepal one can support with
pride. And, you are promoting your Nepal Sadhvavana Party in TND. What
makes you think that NSP represents all the madhise and taraibasi? What
about other madhise representatives from other parties? Or you do not
consider them as madhise because they are not NSP member. For your
information, there are at least 19 from NC, 7 from UML, 4 from RPP
madhise representatives in the parliament. But there is not a single
representative from dalit barga who represent 20% (published in
Kathmandu Post during election'99) of Nepal's population and you do not
bother to raise voice for them. Of course, they are not madhises.
Mr. Bhagat, I understand that you are a regular contributor to the TND
and I appreciate your work. But I have a hard time to understand why you
felt necessary to dump the results of NSP in the TND? If you want to
help TND readers, provide them the URLs of election web sites (there are
at least three) which are more readable and give results of the whole
nation. Please don't try to be the focus point, I think, all TND readers
must know you very well by now!
Umesh Giri
Denver, CO
******************************************************************
From: Bhupendra Rawat <bhupenrawat@hotmail.com>
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Re: Anne Aiko Joshi's comments
Date: Sat, 12 Jun 1999 10:11:50 EDT
It was nice to read Anne Aiko Joshi's intriguing deconstruction of
my light-hearted satire "A Suitable Girl". Thank you, Anne.
I will let you know when I find a suitable girl for myself. Meantime,
time-allowing, I hope to be writing pieces on Kathmandu's gender relations
or lack thereof for readers' collective amusement/edification/whatever.
Bhupendra Rawat
bhupenrawat@hotmail.com
********************************************************
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1999 00:04:15 -0400
To: NEPAL@cs.niu.edu
From: Pradeep Pradhan <ppradhan@gamewood.net>
Subject: e mail address of Dr. K. Maya Sherpa
Dear TND readers,
If you happen to know the address ,e mail or phone number of Dr. K. Maya
Sherpa, I would appreciatte if you could forward to me, Thanks.
Ppradhan@gamewood.net
pkpradhan@medscape.com
***************************************************************
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1999 04:26:04 -0500 (CDT)
To: The Nepal Digest <NEPAL@cs.niu.edu>
From: Balgopal Shrestha <Shrestha@rullet.Leidenuniv.nl>
Subject: Supreme Court Denies Rights to National Languages of Nepal
(News cuttings from "The Kathmandu Post")
The Kathmandu Post
2 June 1999
SC quashes decisions on local languages
KATHMANDU, June 1 (PR)- The Supreme Court today issued a writ of
certiorari, quashing decisions by a number of local bodies that introduced
Newari and Maithali as languages of official use within their jurisdictions
along with Nepali.
The decision was passed by a division bench of the apex court
comprising of Justice Krishna Jung Rayamajhi and Justice Top Bahadur Singh.
The judges ruled that the decision by Kathmandu Metropolis to
introduce Newari also as its official language and decisions of Rajbiraj
municipality and Dhanusha DDC to make Maithali their official language
along with Nepali were against the provision of Article 6 (1) of the
Constitution. As per their pledge in the 1997 local elections, the three
local bodies introduced the two languages as their official languages along
with Nepali.
Within days, a writ petition was filed with the apex court by Lal
Bahadur Thapa, Yagya Nidhi Dahal, Achyut Raman Adhikari, Dhruba Raj Thewe
and Hari Prasad Pokharel.
The court had earlier prevented the local bodies from using the
languages as official languages through a stay order, as demanded by the
petitioners, which ordered the local bodies to refrain from using the
languages for official purposes until the court had reached a verdict on
the petition.
A group of people supporting the decisions by the local bodies to
introduce the local languages as official languages, and unhappy about the
Supreme Court decision, protested the apex court ruling. A group passed
through major of the city shouting slogans against the decision.
Chairman of Nepal Bhasa Manka Khala, Padma Ratna Tuladhar, said the
decision of the Supreme Court barring use of languages identified in the
Constitution as national languages was "ironical and against the spirit of
the Constitution."
Tuladhar said those favouring equal rights to all communities and
castes should now unite for a movement to introduce Constitutional
amendment. Chairman of Newa Guthi, Durga Lal Shrestha, expressed
unhappiness over the court decision saying Newari had been recognized as
official language in Kathmandu even before 1960 itself.
TKP 14 June 1999
SUPREME COURT FAILED TO RECOGNISE LOCAL LANGUAGE
By a Post Reporter
KATHMANDU, June 13 - The recent decision of the Supreme Court preventing
local bodies from using local languages as an additional official language
besides Nepali fails to honour the multilingual and plural nature of the
Nepali society, activists for linguistic equality said.
Participating today in the Sunday Forum, a weekly interaction hosted by
the National Concern Society, in the aftermath of the apex court decision
this month quashing earlier decisions by three local bodies to use Newari
and Maithali as additional languages of official use, the activists said
the decision had done a grave injustice to the native communities of Nepal.
The Supreme Court ruling annulled earlier decisions by the Kathmandu
Metropolis, Janakpur DDC and Rajbiraj Municipality to use Newari and
Maithali, respectively, as additional languages for their official
functioning. The three local bodies, in line with their pledges before the
voters during the 1997 local elections, introduced the two languages as
additional official languages. The stated purpose of their introduction:
facilitating the locals to come into contact with the local bodies.
In its decision, a division bench of the Supreme Court ruled, among
others, that the three local bodies' decisions to introduce languages other
than Nepali as mediums of official work contradicted with a constitutional
provision.
Article 6 of the Constitution, while providing that "all the languages
spoken as the mother tongue in the various parts of Nepal are the national
languages of Nepal" also has a provision which says, "Nepali shall be the
official language."
Activists today argued, as their lawyers did unsuccessfully at the
Supreme Court during the hearing of the language case, that there was no
provision in the Constitution that expressly barred use of any language
other than Nepali for official purpose. Therefore, they said, the decision
by the local bodies to introduce the languages of local use along with
Nepali was not unconstitutional.
"It is ironical," said Padma Ratna Tuladhar, former parliamentarian and
a known Newari language activist, "that the use of languages is being
barred at places which are known as centres of civilization associated with
those languages."
Tuladhar elaborated that Newari and Maithali are being treated as alien
languages in Kathmandu, the centre of Newari civilization, and Janakpur,
the centre of Maithali civilization. "The apex court decision creates
hurdles in the process of promoting and protecting thelocal languages, a
duty of the local bodies as provided for in the local autonomy law."
Advocate Yubaraj Sangraula, a counsel for the Kathmandu Metropolis who
appeared before the Supreme Court to plead in favour of introducing Newari
in Kathmandu, said the petition challenging the decisions of the local
bodies in favour of additional languages was bad at law and was full of
technical inconsistencies. The petitioners who challenged the introduction
of the local languages failed to prove how their rights had beeninfringed
by the introduction of the local languages, a basic requirement in writ
petitions, according to Sangraula. "But the Supreme Court decision failed
to taken the technicalities into account."
Sangraula added that the Constitution had not barred the use of
languages other than Nepali by local bodies. "Article 6 (1), which says
Nepali shall be the official language and Article 6 (2) which says all
languages spoken in Nepal as mother tongue are the national languages of
Nepal are not mutually exclusive." According to Sangraula, the apex court
could have upheld the multilingual and pluralistic spirit of the
Constitution by allowing the use of Newari and Maithali.
Other speakers stressed that the ornamental provisions in the
constitution contained in the directive principles of state policy should
be made operational. "The Constitution says the national languages shall be
protected and promoted but you can not protect or promote them if their
use, the basic way of promoting languages, is not prevented," said Dr
Yogendra Yadav, a linguist at Tribhuvan University. Malla K Sundar, a
journalist-activist said the fourth estate had failed in its duty to relate
the language issue to the public with the gravity and seriousness that was
expected of them. He said the introduction of Newari and Maithali as
supplementary languages was not aimed against Nepali. Dr Harka Gurung, a
noted geographer-planner, said the Supreme Court decision, barring use of
other languages was based on the premise that to save Nepali other
languages should be killed. "That is a wrong approach," said Gurung adding,
"the constitution should be amended by electing a constituent assembly to
make provision for allowing use of all the languages."
********************************************************************
From: Paramendra Bhagat <ParamendraB@ChaiTime.net>
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Krishna Prasad Bhattarai shooting for 8-9% economic growth rate
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1999 09:28:22 +0100
http://theory.tifr.res.in/bombay/history/people/language/index.html
NEPALI <http://www.sil.org/ethnologue/lookup?NEP>
6,000,000 in India (1984 Far Eastern Economic Review); 300,000
in Bhutan (1973 Dorji); 9,900,800 in Nepal (1993); 16,200,000 in all
countries. West Bengal, Darjeeling area, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh,
Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh.
MAITHILI <http://www.sil.org/ethnologue/lookup?MKP>
22,000,000 in India including Dehati (1981); 2,260,000 in Nepal
(1993); 24,260,000 in all countries. Bihar, Delhi, Orissa, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal. There is a Maithili Academy.
Dictionary.
http://www.nepalnews.com.np/contents/englishdaily/ktmpost/1999/Jun/Jun14
/index1.htm#1
"I know double digit growth is very difficult to attain for the
countries where human rights and democracy is respected. However, I
still hope that we can attain up to 8 or even 9 percent economic growth,
if we work in cooperation," he told the business sector.
Earlier, felicitating the new Prime Minister and his cabinet members,
President of FNCCI Ananda Raj Mulmi said the business sector was
optimistic with the majority government of Nepali Congress.
He said Nepal also needs to work for 8 percent growth rate, which its
neighbours have been enjoying continuously for last few years. "If
Nepali Congress has to meet its goal of raising the per capita to 700 US
dollars in next 20 years, we have to realize the growth rate of 8
percent," he added.
(My response to Raghunath Jha in brackets.)
"TND has become irregular these days and when it does come out, it comes
out with 50% garbage of Bhagat. This person named "Parmendra Bhagat"
seems to have some mental problem. He puts every thing from his term
paper to the Sadhbahavana slogans in his postings every time claiming to
be half Indian and half Nepali........He is so imposing that half of the
TND readers will desert your ezine if he is allowed to put his stuffs
here."
(All my postings in some way have to do with Nepal, directly or
indirectly. And it is the policy of this e-zine to post all submissions
unedited, be they yours or mine. Instead of asking the editor to change
that policy and bar me from this e-zine, why don't you write pieces
disagreeing with my viewpoints? We could hold a dialogue instead of
calling each other "sick.")
Parmendra or what ever Bhagat you are, in plain terms you are Gaddar !
To you Berea (There is another berea in Bihar) is everything !
(That is amusing because at Berea College as well I have my fair share
of Raghunath Jhas. I got involved with the student government my first
two years here, went vocal on the unfathomables of Race Relations, and
earned my unfair share of enemies on the side.)
You have been a pain in entire Terai basi's neck. You have been trying
to create a rift among Nepalese. Your approach to solve the terai
problem is simply sick ! Promoting Hindi, claiming to be Indian, whose
interest are you serving ? For GODS sake please stop vomiting your term
papers and speech here. This is not a trash.
(This is the "forward" in you speaking. The caste system in South Asia
is much more demeaning than the issue of Race Relations in the US. You
are offended I happen to be from one of the "backward" castes. In your
worldview it is people of your background who have to be speaking on
bahalf of the Teraiwasis. I am not supposed to do that. You are
offended I am suggesting some Yadav should become President of the
Sadbhavana. Why don't you start talking issues? We could initiate a
dialogue.)
I have noticed there is a tendency on this forum to say that if a piece
of writing is not immediately related to Nepal, it does not belong here.
Well, all issues related to the Global South, especially those matters
economic, are pertinent. And since the Nepalese Americans are Ethnic
Minorities in the American context, issue dealing with the Ethnic
Minorities in the US are pertinent topics on this forum as well. The
guiding principle is all submissions will be published unedited, and
that takes care of all. Those who ask for censorship should instead
focus on countering the arguments they find themselves disagreeing with.
That would be far more productive.
I am still hoping we will be able to host some prolonged discussions on
the National Economy. Let's respond to Krishna Prasad Bhattarai's call
to achieve an economic growth rate of 8-9%. The internet makes it
possible to contribute while long-distancing. The Nepal Digest makes
that possible. It is accessed also in Kathmandu.
I am hoping discussions on the National Economy will bring us all
together. All who have been driven apart by the discussions on the
ethnic issues.
Nepal ko Kathmandu Kathmandu. Sara duniya ko Kathmandu America.
America ko Kathmandu New York (well, some might say it is the Silicon
Valley, now or next). New York ko Kathmandu Manhattan. Manhattan pani
dekhiyo. I was up there this past weekend. Siddhartha Kumai was with
me. Aalok from his batch came along from Connecticut. We all stayed
with Pawan Adhikari, Nuru Lama and Ram Prasad Subedi, 3rd Avenue, 29th
Street. Friday evening 8 PM to Sunday evening 6 PM. It was intense. I
did so much walking. From the Times square all way to the UN Building,
and then along the East River, crossing the Brroklyn Bridge, coming
right back, continuing along the East River to the very tip from where
you get to take a peep at The Statue, further along the Hudson to the
World Trade Center and back to Nuru-Pawan's place. This after I
attended the IAPAC Conference at the Asia Society which concluded at
3:30 PM on Saturday. On Sunday I bid farewell and walked all the way to
the Central Park - got caught in the Puerto Rico Day celebrations - and
then the entire length of the park - glad to finally see some green
besides the concrete - and then further into Harlem - and then to the
Hudson and then along the Hudson to the 42nd Street. Then it was time
to meet Siddhartha and head back to Philly. After we "landed" on Friday
Sid and I took a dip into the Times Square crowd right away. That
bustle, that energy, that vibe. It was intoxicating. We took a bunch
of pictures. Two were with Cindy Crawford and Ricky Martin
larger-than-life posters in the background. I bought 50 postcards that
I sent off this morning: Never forget home and family! Ram Subedi,
Pawan Adhikari and I were talking until five in the morning the first
night on the "Bahun-Madisey" question, they being the Brahmin and I
being the Madhesi. We started from fundamental, seemingly
irreconciliable disagreements to a point of agreement that the National
Economy is and ought to be the number one political issue for Nepal.
All other issues take second place. Poverty as a political issue is far
larger than any issue to do with the ethnic question. Aba Kiran Kattel
lai bhetna California janu parchha ki kya ho! 59 bucks and Greyhound
will take you anywhere.........That will be some cross-country marathon
should it materialize next summer. And then maybe Chicago, Texas,
Florida.
At Budhanilkantha my classmates resorted to calling me Paru; I guess
Paramendra is a long name. My family calls me Pappu. Once Roshan
Pokharel from Bhanu Chowk came to see me at my place in Janakpur. He
asked for Paramendra. My grandfather suggested he go further down the
street and he might find the person he was looking for. In earnest.
Once I went to attend church in Berea - I finally did convert, but to
Buddhism - and this guy started calling me Paul after I got introduced
as Paramendra. Paul this, Paul that. I attended a Quixtar.com meeting
last week and this other guy was like Bill (Bill !) this, Bill that. At
Berea College some call me PB - they make it sound like PeeWee, like
Kiwi, the bird; I guess that is Paul and Bill put together, otherwise I
would be PKB, Paramendra Kumar Bhagat. And at work we have a Roger.
Since at Chaitime it is a whole bunch of South Asian Americans and then
some he gets called Raj. Raj! So much for Paul and Bill.
If you are referring to the message I sent to Senator Shwartz, I
consider that to be a political piece of writing pertaining to the
status of the ethnic minorities in the US, which is what the Nepalese
here are. So yes, please do publish it as is. It is an article in a
letter format.
> I am a college student from Nepal at Berea College in Kentucky who
> believes America is a concept not yet fully worked out and hopes to be
> able to contribute through an active involvement in the political
> process. Maybe I should start my involvement with you. More about me
> on my homepage if you have the time. Search for "paramendra" on
> AltaVista or click on the link provided below.
>
> I have been working for Chaitime.com this summer in downtown Philly.
> It is working to be for South Asian Americans what iVillage.com is for
> women, a community on the web. Someone at work mentioned you. At one
> of your events she asked you as to what you had on your platform for
> South Asians and you responded, "Wait a minute, you look white!" Then
> it so happened that another colleague of mine knows one of your sons
> from her college days at U Penn. And so I started searching for you on
> the web. I got interested. Woman. Democrat. Three-term state Senator.
> Aspiring for the US Senate. It all clicked right in.
>
> I am working to launch a South Asian American Political Action
> Committee to rival the Israeli Lobby's in its effectiveness on Capitol
> Hill. I hope the effort will snowball into a true Rainbow Coalition
> including other Asian, Afro and Hispanic groups and go on to team up
> with groups and organizations working for the theme of women's
> empowerment as well. Relentless networking, relentless organizing,
> relentless canvassing the political retail circuit.
>
> I feel passionate about the political process. I was wondering if I
> could get involved with your political aspirations in some way. Please
> take one look at my resume and tell me. I might be in for the long
> haul, your Stephenopoulos. I was the first freshman ever in the
> history of my college - the number one liberal arts college in the
> South - to have gotten elected SGA President.
>
> I am so glad you are thinking in terms of the US Senate now. Never
> settle for second when first is available, as JFK put it.
>
> Sincerely,
> Paramendra Bhagat
>
> PS. The other two people on the mailing list - one is my boss at
> Chaitime - there are 1.1 million Indian Americans, 95% of them in the
> North-East - the other is the colleague and friend at Chaitime who
> knows your son. Abeer, will you please kindly send a copy of this mail
> to your friend? I would appreciate that. Thanks.
>
150 years back it was slavery. 50 years back it was segregation and
voting rights. Today it is negative stereotyping and other forms of
marginalization. It is about image-making.
Abraham Lincoln's Republican Party took a swipe at the institution of
slavery. 100 years later is was JFK and LBJ's Democratic Party that ran
in tandem with the Civil Rights Movement. Bill Clinton has 90% support
from the African-American population. Now with George W. Bush as a
Spanish-speaking, "compassionate Conservative," a favorite of the
Hispanics in Texas, is it time for the pendulum to swing the other way?
Is it time the two parties redefined their relationships to the ethnic
minorities? Where do the Nepalese Americans fit in? Are they on their
own, or are they organized enough to reach out under a larger South
Asian or even Asian umbrella? Are they out to have a voice? No time
better than the Presidential elections to be asking these questions.
Paramendra Bhagat
********************************************************************
From: Neshal Shrestha <nshresth@papersoft.com>
Subject: Information
To: nepal-request@cs.niu.edu
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1999 11:01:56 -0500 (CDT)
Hi
I am looking for Prabodh Shrestha or Saroj Prajapati's telephone
number or the e-mail address(from maryland, virginia, or DC area).
Please let me know ASAP.
p.s. It concerns about ANA convention 1999.
Thank you
Nischal.
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