tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72114149624525351242012-01-25T07:16:13.767+05:30south asian culture and politicsAditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.comBlogger1901100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-88375078746259637112010-03-09T12:44:00.000+05:302010-03-09T12:46:17.607+05:30

TKP 10/3/2010The public security crisis is but a symptom of the ineffectuality and paralysis with which the government is afflictedThe home minister’s job, under prevailing circumstances, seems doomed to failure. The first two individuals who held the position after the 2006 Jana Andolan -- Krishna Prasad Sitaula and Bam Dev Gautam -- were both vilified, either for the ineffectuality of the

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-67064917924067966392010-03-03T11:06:00.000+05:302010-03-03T11:08:14.156+05:30

TKP 2/3/2010There is an ideological vacuum waiting to be filled on the right of Nepali politicsIf there is any party to be admired for consistency and sheer doggedness against all political trends, it has to be Kamal Thapa’s Rastriya Prajatantra Party — Nepal (RPP-N). When it has become conventional to blame all of Nepal’s ills on its feudal past and rulers who sought only to plunder the state,

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-72550431365497923362010-02-27T19:09:00.001+05:302010-02-27T19:11:27.918+05:30

TKP 23/2/2010The eclipse in the social demands that the Maoists raised and pursued will likely cost the partyThe Maoists are facing an existential crisis. Fourteen years after beginning their armed movement, they neither hold state power nor are they waging a struggle against it. In a sense, they have become an establishment force, where in theory they are an opposition force in a parliamentary

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-90412161023419262752010-02-27T19:07:00.000+05:302010-02-27T19:08:52.950+05:30

TKP 12/2/2010The Maoists have come a long way since 1996, but the struggle to balance the demands of political order with those of liberty and autonomy continuesIt can be said that underlying the Maoists’ armed movement were two longings. The first was for the creation of a potent state, which manifested itself through the Maoist emphasis on nationalism. And the other was for liberty and release

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-15896620721639031382010-02-27T19:05:00.000+05:302010-02-27T19:06:44.671+05:30

TKP 8/2/2010There are flaws to the concept paper on state restructuring, but many of the objections to it are wrong headedThe concept paper on State Restructuring, recently submitted to the Constituent Assembly (CA), has stirred up and brought out into the open latent fears regarding the radical changes to Nepali state and society that the provisions in the concept paper will bring. There is,

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-16790012148680218012010-02-27T19:02:00.000+05:302010-02-27T19:04:46.095+05:30

TKP 2/2/2010The recent Standing Committee meeting of the Maoists demonstrated how much the party has evolved in the past four yearsThe recently completed meeting of the Maoist party’s Standing Committee decided to focus on completing the peace and constitution drafting processes as opposed to beginning preparations for a decisive “people’s revolt” to capture state power. The relative ease with

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-52458430670113285362010-02-27T19:01:00.000+05:302010-02-27T19:02:11.876+05:30

TKP 18/1/2010A gathering of civil society leaders on Sunday was a reminder that the peace process agreements have been forgottenOn Sunday, around a hundred individuals gathered outside the Constituent Assembly (CA) in New Baneshwor and, under the banner of the Citizen’s Movement for Democracy and Peace (CMDP), staged an hour-long sit in. The purpose of the dharna was to draw attention towards the

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-26473496914001303992010-02-27T18:58:00.000+05:302010-02-27T18:59:32.497+05:30

5/1/2010The Maoists have the capacity to introduce positive changes in the operation of the Nepali state -- but that also depends on factors outside of their controlAditya AdhikariWhat has the Maoist party introduced into Nepal’s political system that marks a departure from the traditional practices of multi-party democracy as practiced in Nepal in the 1950s and 1990s? First, its organization has

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-6873702697601605522010-02-27T18:56:00.000+05:302010-02-27T18:57:19.060+05:30

Himal January 2010Nepal’s Maoist party finds itself in the opposition after a brief period during which it led government. A constellation of 22 parties is now in government and intent on isolating the Maoists and trying to weaken it. The former rebels find their agenda for social and political transformation, having hardly begun, thwarted. They desperately need to demonstrate that the current

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-25348355507172828072010-02-27T18:54:00.000+05:302010-02-27T18:55:14.419+05:30

TKP 1/1/2010The major hope for 2010 is that the peace process will struggle onPolitical predictions are notoriously prone to failure. Particularly so during uncertain times such as those prevalent in Nepal right now: where a peace process between previously-warring parties, now in its fifth year, appears to have reached a stage where the interests and ideologies of the two sides have come into

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-2751617160285985712010-02-27T18:51:00.001+05:302010-02-27T18:52:49.483+05:30

TKP 29/12/2009Amidst all the outrage, it went unnoticed that Prachanda’s speech was meant to send a number of key messages to DelhiIt is clear that Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s controversial speech addressing India marked the beginning of a new strategy for the Maoist party. This was largely lost amidst all the outraged noise generated in response to the speech -- outrage enough for Dahal

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-55555051714172959112010-02-27T18:45:00.002+05:302010-02-27T18:51:05.155+05:30

TKP 22/12/2009The republication of Nepal’s Failed Development offers a chance to recapture some of the energy and vision that drove the 2006 Jana AndolanDevendra Raj Panday has been involved in almost all possible capacities in Nepal’s struggle for development and political modernization over the past half a century. He joined the civil service in 1960 and resigned in twenty years. In the 1980s

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-12725547477646626692010-02-27T18:43:00.000+05:302010-02-27T18:45:13.709+05:30

TKP 27/10/2009Bidhya Bhandari’s proposal to amend the CPA must be rejected absolutelyThere appear to be three constituencies behind Defence Minister Bidhya Bhandari’s demand to have the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) amended so that recruitment is once again allowed for the Nepal Army, military aid from friendly countries resumed and the capabilities of the Army strengthened. First, a

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-78065789034029580842010-02-27T18:40:00.000+05:302010-02-27T18:42:38.920+05:30

Himal Southasian October 2009When Ram Chandra Poudel became Parliamentary Party (PP) leader of the Nepali Congress in June, beating Sher Bahadur Deuba in elections, a new hope had dawned among the party’s so called second-generation leaders like Poudel and Prakash Man Singh and among younger leaders in their 30s and 40s, who have been struggling to make their way up in the party ranks. For, the

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-2094121176448338732010-02-27T18:37:00.001+05:302010-02-27T18:40:17.102+05:30

TKP 13/12/2009The Maoists are playing a long-term game with the objective of installing themselves in power so firmly that they cannot be dislodgedThe Maoists are driven by contradictory desires and constraints, and although their eventual objective is to return to head the government there is little coherence in the various views within the party on how to get there. Pushpa Kamal Dahal was in

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-52118417078032207612010-02-27T18:35:00.001+05:302010-02-27T18:37:04.890+05:30

TKP 22/9/2009The government may have ratified ILO Convention 169, but bitter dispute over its implementation has begun to take placeOver the past two years, various organisations representing the interests of Adivasi-Janajatis have begun to assert their rights primarily through international legal instruments regarding the rights of indigenous people. NGOs such as the Nepal Federation of

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-1645211244672741872010-02-27T18:33:00.000+05:302010-02-27T18:35:23.908+05:30

TKP 15/9/2009Why is the CPN-UML threatening to implode at the very moment when it should remain most united?Despite the Maoists’ efforts to undermine the Madhav Kumar Nepal government, the coalition of the 22-parties remain relatively strong, and so continues to remain in power, though somewhat uncomfortably. But fractures have appeared: between the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML, within the

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-85231705124097272522010-02-18T20:37:00.003+05:302010-02-18T20:57:56.160+05:30

I just wanted to let you know that I have a new blog on the go in addition to Mesocosm, The Ajnabee.I will still be blogging here, but I wanted to start a personal blog for all of the posts I want to write that don't quite fit the Mesocosm remit.Oh, and I'm really sorry for the last article I wrote about instant noodles which you may have noticed I have taken down. It was an atrocious piece of

Sophia Furberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177157461069232672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-92014148002372992242009-10-31T20:56:00.016+05:302009-10-31T23:44:28.482+05:30

All too often the beauty of Nepal's Tarai region is overlooked. The hot and dusty plains may not be what comes to mind when most people in the world think of 'Nepal', the land of Mount Everest, Sherpas and Durbar Squares, but they are a massive part of Nepali cultural, political and economic reality. When I came to Nepal as a traveler for the first time in 2008 I arrived expecting mountain views,

Sophia Furberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177157461069232672noreply@blogger.com183tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-48876881135128267512009-10-24T22:04:00.006+05:302009-10-25T22:23:07.782+05:30

Any journalist, businessman, NGO worker or academic working in a country where they don't speak the local language will know that a good interpreter is worth their weight in gold. As crucial as these individuals are to the functioning of any international mission, summit or news bureau, their contribution generally goes unnoticed. As this editorial from The Guardian puts it: They are in almost

Sophia Furberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177157461069232672noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-6279497418852961052009-10-02T17:16:00.008+05:302009-10-02T20:13:14.982+05:30

This skit from sketch show Goodness Gracious Me is essential viewing for anyone who wants to get an insight into the bizarre relationship between British people and South Asian food. I was trying to explain to my Nepali friends the other day the British ritual of 'going for a curry' and this sketch came to mind. A British trip to an Indian restuarant is generally preceded by a visit to the pub,

Sophia Furberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177157461069232672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-19190995325090922632009-09-08T04:55:00.002+05:302009-09-08T04:59:27.685+05:30

TKP 29/8/2009Poor visibility meant that there was to be no flight that morning but I chose to wait it out at Biratnagar Airport. I had received tika from Anshu Aama, hugged Dai goodbye, shaken umpteen male hands along the way and watched the rain. The Narayan Gopal song, Bisera jaun kasari aaja, had been endlessly played before I left. And there was no way I could go back and do all that again

James Sharrocknoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-29734203284908123382009-09-08T04:45:00.002+05:302009-09-08T04:50:12.295+05:30

TKP 18/7/2009I am not alone, I think, when studying human rights reports on conflict and the messy aftermath in often reading direct quotations from victims first. Not, I hope, out of voyeuristic interest in horror but because they usually contain a power and immediacy unavailable in ordinary report prose. “What is the What” can be viewed as an extended direct quotation from Valentino Achak Deng,

James Sharrocknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-47189064361639533592009-09-03T13:08:00.001+05:302009-09-03T13:10:23.943+05:30

TKP 31/8/2009Those who argue that the Vice President should take the oath in Nepali fail to realise that the state's legitimacy comes from its ability to evolveThose critical of Vice President Paramananda Jha's decision not to retake his oath of office in Nepali — at least until the constitution is amended to allow the taking of oaths in other languages used in Nepal — argue that he is in severe

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-67071322339652100822009-08-28T09:44:00.001+05:302009-08-28T09:46:48.936+05:30

TKP 25/8/2009The day after Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal arrived in Delhi last week, some consternation was visible among the advisors who had accompanied him. For rumours were circulating that the Indians had opened high-level channels of communication with Nepal’s Maoists. Details were scant and it wasn’t clear what this would mean for Nepal’s political process, but for a government that

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-87905134809267080812009-08-25T20:53:00.011+05:302009-08-26T01:06:17.656+05:30

Yesterday afternoon I made a trip to the tailor's to pick up a newly made salwaar kameez. For me, the anticipation of getting clothes back from the tailor is something like that I used to feel when picking up photos that I'd had developed from an analogue camera; you never know quite what the end results are going to be. This was the first time that I'd got a salwaar suit tailor-made, so I was

Sophia Furberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177157461069232672noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-65064548643025556952009-08-23T13:14:00.001+05:302009-08-23T13:16:51.401+05:30

TKP 17/8/2009It is always difficult for a Nepali prime minister on trips to New Delhi to maintain the appearance that he has the power to engage India on equal terms. For Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, this will be even more difficult than usual. For one, New Delhi played a major role in creating the conditions that enabled his ascent to the highest office, and India will thus expect him to

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-11601983641106997732009-08-23T13:08:00.001+05:302009-08-23T13:10:26.106+05:30

TKP 10/8/2009There is little desire for immediate compromise on both sides of the “civilian supremacy” debateIt is easy to get confused listening to the absurd, legalistic arguments on both sides of the recently intensified “civilian supremacy” debate. The Maoists argue that the month during which the government had promised to reach agreement on the issue has gone by without any resolution and

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-20446829921175239832009-08-23T13:05:00.001+05:302009-08-23T13:07:05.905+05:30

TKP 3/8/2009Underlying the vehement opposition to Vice President Parmananda Jha’s refusal to retake his oath in Nepali lies a fear of the power of the Hindi languageVice President Parmananda Jha's decision to take his oath of office in Hindi aroused much anger and resentment among the groups that consider the Nepali language the fulcrum of Nepali nationalism. And now that he has refused to retake

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-28175623678864873722009-08-23T13:00:00.002+05:302009-08-23T13:03:16.108+05:30

TKP 24/7/2009Saubhagya Shah's Civil Society in Uncivil Places: Soft State and Regime Change in NepalThe tremendous space that “civil society” has enjoyed in the public imagination over the past half-decade-both as a notion and as a sphere of social and political activity-has been unprecedented in Nepal's history. That groups that seek to organise to exert pressure on policy now largely do so

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-67538918560157939642009-08-02T17:02:00.007+05:302009-08-02T18:24:22.437+05:30

Since coming to Nepal, I've realised that Nepali is not the only language that I will need to learn in order to live and work here. I also have to familiarise myself with the language of acronyms and buzz-words spoken in INGOs, multilateral agencies and diplomatic missions. After a few weeks of getting my BOGs's and my TOR's mixed up I feel like I'm now getting the hang of the lingo. When I first

Sophia Furberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177157461069232672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-57292557735832642552009-07-23T17:59:00.009+05:302009-07-23T19:25:44.992+05:30

As a Brit in the Subcontinent, I've had many new things to adapt to over the course of visits for work, play and study. I've got used to dhal bhat, am unphased by squat toilets (even those which resemble something from a Danny Boyle film) and can even speak Hindi and Urdu with a funny British accent. I take my tea with at least three sugars, get cravings for masala dosas and wai-wai noodles when

Sophia Furberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177157461069232672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-7964064987223811232009-07-23T11:52:00.001+05:302009-07-23T11:54:09.486+05:30

The Kathmandu Post 21/7/2009With the imminent retirement of CoAS Katawal, the Army leadership has an opportunity to redefine its role in line with the changed political circumstancesChief of Army Staff (CoAS) Rookmangud Katawal has had a busy month. Less than two months before his retirement (a month before for voluntary retirement), he appears to be engaged on all fronts: lobbying with the

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-54025219310167876692009-07-13T10:09:00.001+05:302009-07-13T10:10:36.362+05:30

TKP 6/7/2009The political forces that coalesced to form the new government believe that the Maoist-led government had to be replaced as the Maoists clearly demonstrated that they were not willing to play by the rules of multi-party democracy. They were interfering too deeply with the institutions of the state, it was said, and were using too many of its resources to strengthen the party. But the

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-49458268837645433272009-07-13T10:05:00.002+05:302009-07-13T10:07:34.406+05:30

TKP 29/6/2009The crucial question remains unanswered: Now that the monarchy no longer exists, what is the Army for?Towards the end of his eight-year incarceration in the 1960s, B.P. Koirala wrote a historical analysis of the national army. The repeated occasions on which he had been jailed under the surveillance of the Army, B.P. wrote, had led him to reflect on the role of the institution in the

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-3564942073606351112009-07-13T09:59:00.002+05:302009-07-13T10:02:00.079+05:30

Pragati July 2009The change in government in Kathmandu has turned public opinion against IndiaNEPAL, WITH a population of almost 30 million, may be a medium-sized country. But its location between the two colossi of India and China leads some of its inhabitants to believe that they live in a tiny country, whose internal politics is but a reflection of larger geopolitical machinations undertaken

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-37277659066116479952009-07-13T09:56:00.001+05:302009-07-13T09:57:42.610+05:30

Himal SOUTHASIAN July 2009The new coalition government in Kathmandu might be made up largely of the discredited old guard, but it has an opportunity to bring the country together through effective government and pushing the peace process. Its members just need to stop bickering amongst themselves.The 4 May resignation of Pushpa Kamal Dahal (‘Prachanda’) from the prime-ministership ushered in a

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-14807780034579588072009-07-13T09:50:00.000+05:302009-07-13T09:52:34.966+05:30

TKP 15/6/2009Simply replacing Nepal's parliamentary system with a presidential one is not going to cure the nation's illsThe traditional parliamentary parties, presenting themselves as staunch defenders of democracy, have for some time now argued that only a parliamentary system would be able to protect democracy. That a presidential system would lead to authoritarianism, and that the Maoist

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-78618457201949794312009-06-15T11:10:00.001+05:302009-06-15T11:14:07.796+05:30

TKP 8/6/2009The PLA is now more of a burden to the Maoist leadership than an asset The new government, if it manages to get past the current conflicts over the distribution of ministerial portfolios, will adopt an intransigent stance towards Maoist demands. In addition to pressure from within its diverse constituents, it will face major pressure from the Nepal Army and India. The government will

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-72882860160244384782009-06-15T11:08:00.001+05:302009-06-15T11:10:04.838+05:30

TKP 19/5/2009The next few months are seen by the NC and UML as a crucial window of opportunity to strengthen their legitimacy The resignation of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” seemed to breathe a new lease of life into the mainstream parliamentary parties. The previous year had been difficult for them. The results of the Constituent Assembly (CA) elections and the eight-month long

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-4923183467851390572009-06-15T11:02:00.001+05:302009-06-15T11:03:44.507+05:30

TKP 11/5/2009The Maoists and others on the left have always felt that there is an antagonistic relationship between “democracy” and “nationalism”When Maoists or others on the left of the political spectrum claim that it is essential to strike a balance between “democracy” and “nationalism”, what is implied is that there is necessarily an antagonistic relationship between the two values.

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-65045969284628380802009-06-15T10:56:00.001+05:302009-06-15T10:58:53.468+05:30

TKP 4/5/2009The policy papers prepared for the NDF, though unrealistic, envisage nothing less than a complete overhaul in the way foreign aid is used and perceivedAlong with the decade-long conflict, the level and nature of Nepal's economy has been a major cause underlying the demoralization of the Nepali psyche. The population has through education and travel become aware of the possibilities

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-59328605244294956552009-06-09T03:03:00.016+05:302009-06-09T03:24:40.353+05:30

School in Hangdewa VDC, Taplejung DistrictPhoto by Yadav KCChildren in assemblyPashupatinath, KathmanduTeej festivalBhaktapurtiltshiftmaker.com

James Sharrocknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-7352757125872552362009-06-07T06:42:00.006+05:302009-06-07T06:54:36.821+05:30

It's late, I've been packing, I should be sleeping but instead I wanted to share this little youtube gem with you, in which a newscaster is about to talk to a man who climbed Mount Everest, but makes a spectacularly un-p.c gaffe live on air. News Anchor: "We're about to interview Eric Wyhenmeyer who climbed the highest mountain in the world...... but he's GAY.... he's gay? I mean, excuse me, he's

Sophia Furberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177157461069232672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-59413599330983693902009-05-06T19:44:00.002+05:302009-05-06T19:49:55.746+05:30

An article of mine from Hardnews: Gruesome UAE torture tapesVideo footage of the UAE prince shows him torturing 25 more victimsSophia Furber LondonA tape of a wealthy UAE prince torturing an Afghan immigrant has been leaked to the US by a former business partner. The tape shows Sheikh Issa Bin Zayed al Nayhan whipping Afghan businessman, Mohammed Shah Poor, repeatedly on the face and body,

Sophia Furberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177157461069232672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-6035781157146268912009-05-06T17:47:00.013+05:302009-05-06T19:26:43.059+05:30

One of the biggest surprises of the current furore over Gurkha settlement rights in the UK is the support that the right-wing press has shown to the Gurkhas. Even the most anti-immigration of the tabloids, the Daily Mail was outraged by Gordon Brown's recent attempts to tighten residency criterea. 'Treachery! The government unveils new residency test for Gurkhas ... that almost NONE of them can

Sophia Furberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177157461069232672noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-78810521784489706302009-05-04T05:03:00.004+05:302009-05-04T05:23:19.001+05:30

When I was on holiday in Northumberland just recently I was suprised to find a castle 'designed' by Edwin Lutyens, the architectural mastermind of New Delhi. Lindisfarne Castle is a 16th-Century castle set on Lindisfarne, a tidal island that gets cut off from the mainland at certain times every day. Lutyens renovated and decorated this story-book castle at the behest of a a London publishing

Sophia Furberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177157461069232672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-55607780516662411412009-04-29T18:53:00.000+05:302009-04-29T18:56:05.155+05:30

TKP 27/4/2009The attempt by the Maoists to remove Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) Rookmangud Katawal from office and install someone pliant and receptive to Maoist demands in his place is a manifestation of the megalomaniacal tendency within the party that is driven solely by the thirst for power. This is the tendency that causes Maoist commanders, union activists and other mid-level leaders to

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-19811861364143240472009-04-29T18:51:00.001+05:302009-04-29T18:53:08.936+05:30

TKP 13/4/2009The Maoists are facing the consequences of underestimating the depth of ethnic sentimentA newspaper editor, accustomed to hearing Maoist leaders advocate ethnically determined autonomous provinces, was surprised by a recent statement by Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai that purely ethnically determined federal provinces were dangerous. That other factors -- such as resource base and

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-56386991780113548732009-04-15T03:07:00.001+05:302009-04-15T03:10:39.090+05:30

TKP 12/04/09It takes a full day and some night until the bus journey ends. From there it is a day hiking upwards until we reach the usual Nepali path: up and down, up and down. Hurting from the hills on the second day I am cheerfully informed that ‘this is why you Belayatis could never defeat Nepal’. Old men and children half my size speedily tip toe past me with minimal effort and immense loads.

James Sharrocknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-36833466951028813432009-04-15T02:56:00.003+05:302009-04-15T03:07:06.966+05:30

TKP 22/03/09 What on earth motivates a human being to risk life and limb (and toes and fingers) in mountaineering? Robert Macfarlane's Mountains of the Mind is now a minor classic because of the way in which it seeks to answer this simple question. Despite being published on the fiftieth anniversary of Norgay and Hillary's successful Everest ascent Macfarlane's Mountains has almost nothing in

James Sharrocknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-33152267171382813632009-04-10T18:58:00.005+05:302009-04-15T02:26:49.071+05:30

I urge all of you to read this article by Johann Hari in this Wednesday's Independent, which examines darker side of life in Dubai. A centre of international business and tourism it may be, but Dubai is also booming hub of human rights abuses, double standards and exploitation. I've also posted this article up on Migrant Rights a blog which I edit for Mideast Youth. As Hari discover, life in

Sophia Furberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177157461069232672noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-4755780492781837822009-04-08T12:08:00.001+05:302009-04-08T12:09:29.703+05:30

TKP 7/4/2009Despite his prestige, Baburam Bhattarai's position within his party and his relationship with Prachanda has always been uneasyThere was deep political uncertainty for months after the formation of the Maoist-led government in August. The Nepali Congress was in no mood for cooperation. Then arose intense conflict within the Maoist party itself, which culminated in the Kharipati

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-27304390350238148122009-04-08T12:06:00.001+05:302009-04-08T12:07:39.928+05:30

TKP 30/3/2009The Maoists continue to pursue methods that had benefited them in the past but which no longer applyUntil the 12-point agreement of November 2005, the Maoists functioned according to the logic of People's War. The party's strategy was to consolidate a military hold over the rural areas, surround the cities and pave the way for a general mass insurrection that would seize state power.

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-32591214155171879462009-04-08T12:03:00.001+05:302009-04-08T12:05:43.748+05:30

TKP 16/3/2009Reliance on internally generated revenue is vastly preferable to dependence on foreign aidIn 1993, soon after the first Nepali Congress government came to power riding a wave of popular mobilization that toppled the monarchical regime and winning a majority in general elections, then Minister of State for Finance Mahesh Acharya gave an interview. Still exuberant and energetic from

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-63498028035067090852009-03-30T01:02:00.006+05:302009-03-30T19:34:51.436+05:30

These words from Bob Dylan go out to all the people in Nepal who are still dealing with the power cutsWork while you can while the light lasts, Because soon the night comesWhen no man may work(Except when the electricity helpfully comes back on between midnight and 4am, that is)

Sophia Furberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177157461069232672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-26528331525398247002009-03-20T02:07:00.001+05:302009-03-20T02:37:39.161+05:30

I'm in the middle of reading David Rieff's book A Bed for the Night and enjoyed this Brecht poem which gives the book its title and is in the frontspiece. The book? Its not the usual critique of aid (mainly because it focuses on the gap between claim and reality in the humanitarian world) and more powerful/depressing for all that. What you might call a deep meditation. Possible review coming

James Sharrocknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-67942332310253282552009-03-20T02:04:00.004+05:302009-03-20T02:09:36.255+05:30

TKP 22/02/09If you call someone ‘diplomatic’ in the West then it is often taken as a positive compliment, and possibly an indication that the person concerned has shown tact, been aware of the feelings of others or has been good at keeping the peace in awkward social situations. ‘Politeness’ has a certain meaning too. Opening doors for people, helping old ladies cross the road, queuing patiently:

James Sharrocknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-61300795903320592302009-03-10T22:08:00.000+05:302009-03-10T22:11:09.697+05:30

TKP 10/3/2009The Maoists draft constitution, in proposing great centralisation of power in the office of the president, is not in consonance with Nepal's political landscapeControversy over the Maoist draft constitution, released last week by Finance Minister Baburam Bhattarai, has focused chiefly on the provision that allows only “anti-feudal” and “anti-imperialist” forces to compete in the

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-50253750925431794562009-03-10T22:00:00.000+05:302009-03-10T22:07:41.265+05:30

TKP 2/3/2009The observation that the fragilities of the peace process and the mistrust between political parties are largely because most of the agreements of the peace process were not implemented has by now become conventional wisdom. It therefore puzzles observers that political parties that would obviously benefit from the implementation of some of the provisions in the Comprehensive Peace

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-21978156834405143562009-03-10T21:49:00.002+05:302009-03-10T21:57:55.300+05:30

TKP 17/2/2009Since their electoral victory, there has been worry that the Maoists have increased strength to pursue the goals of neutralizing other political parties and consolidating near total control over the state structure. The Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML, as well as those wary of Maoist intentions in civil society and the international community, understand that concerted opposition to

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-57561688364933810252009-03-10T21:32:00.002+05:302009-03-10T21:37:10.051+05:30

TKP 2/23/2009Largely consigned to barracks after the Jana Andolan of 2006, the position of the Nepal Army (NA) within the larger political picture or its potential strength have been unclear for the past three years. Under the interim government, the tenuous ties between G.P. Koirala and Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) Rukmangud Katawal defined the relationship between the military and the political

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-7388746929592063462009-03-10T21:23:00.001+05:302009-03-10T21:26:23.887+05:30

TKP 2/9/2009The Maoists performance in government can be seen as the most recent development in a historical trend that started over half a century agoFrom the mid-twentieth century onwards, political regimes in Nepal have tried to change the character of the state in accordance with international standards of democracy and legitimacy. For the two centuries after its inception the state was

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-74089894551146802922009-02-24T04:35:00.003+05:302009-02-24T04:37:11.088+05:30

The following piece of mine appeared in the Kathmandu Post's 16th Anniversary supplement in mid-Feb: The past year saw an unprecedented number of Nepalis migrate to work in destinations such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and the UAE, drawn by the promise better opportunities and higher salaries than Nepal’s sluggish economy can offer. Nepal’s two million strong migrant workforce has not

Sophia Furberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177157461069232672noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-69014916908144763692009-02-15T21:02:00.007+05:302009-02-15T22:00:38.400+05:30

Rules: No tagging of other folks here, just read it :)1. One of mesocosm has trouble vomiting on London buses late on non-school nights2. One of us works on the 24th floor and has been told that the building is ‘so well-designed it shakes’3. Mesocosm took root on the legendary floor B of SOAS library in 2006 and on the steps outside4. SOAS library is also workplace of Library Announcement Man

James Sharrocknoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-88981317694193732382009-02-03T14:06:00.002+05:302009-02-03T14:10:25.469+05:30

TKP 3/2/2009Ian Martin, head of the United Nations Mission to Nepal (UNMIN) and Special Representative of the Secretary General to Nepal, is now leaving Nepal three years after his arrival and two years after the establishment of UNMIN. After the success of the second Jana Andolan, the UN mission was given the twin functions of assisting with the Constituent Assembly (CA) elections and monitoring

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-2465581085114574032009-02-02T16:02:00.001+05:302009-02-02T16:06:26.653+05:30

TKP 27/1/2009It had been some years since a Bollywood film or actor offended the sentiments of Nepalis. Then last week the government decided to ban the film Chandni Chowk to China, in which a character claims that the Buddha was born in India. Stirrings of protest started, student unions began getting active, letters of outrage were sent to the media. The government then banned the movie -- more

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-40714318830196382182009-02-02T15:59:00.001+05:302009-02-02T16:02:28.001+05:30

TKP 20/1/2008The rebel wishes to overturn the existing order. The criminal simply wishes to violate the rules of the existing order to extract personal gain. The rebel and the criminal may both engage in similar actions -- of violence or other acts recognized by law as illegal -- but while the criminal accepts that he will face prosecution if caught, the rebel maintains an attitude of certitude

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-18582848320218853562009-02-02T15:56:00.002+05:302009-02-02T15:59:03.751+05:30

TKP 13/1/2009Loathe as the Kathmandu classes may be to admit, by its end, the decade-long conflict had turned into one between the bourgeoisie and the classes historically peripheral to the state structure. The 12-point agreement and the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA), beyond being agreements signed between political parties to bring an end to the war, were renegotiated social contracts.

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-52367345973252958292009-01-29T05:20:00.006+05:302009-01-29T05:32:19.073+05:30

TKP 25/01/09If fiction is capable of producing harmful stereotypes of Nepalis then, well, at least it is fiction. Novelists have no obligation to get every fact correct. We hope they are, after all, burdened with the task of searching for higher truths. And if every novel had to pass the test of political correctness then we would be left with very dull and boring books. Journalism as a form,

James Sharrocknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-48062372883561400332009-01-21T01:02:00.002+05:302009-01-21T01:09:38.828+05:30

TKP 10/01/09Maps for Lost Lovers describes one year in the lives of Pakistani Muslim immigrants living in a northern British town. It tells the inner stories of Shamas and his wife Kaukab and how they and their family come to terms with the disappearance and presumed murder of Shama's brother Jugnu and his lover Chanda. The novel documents the turmoil of individuals in a community seemingly

James Sharrocknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-81452651093256440332009-01-21T00:35:00.005+05:302009-01-21T00:54:15.823+05:30

This is a response to the article 'Treat them well' by Howard Roak in TKP 21/12/08 The response was published in TKP on 28/12/09 (but is not archived online). There followed some replies in the letters page from Howard, others and me.Howard Roak demanded protection and better treatment for an apparently oppressed group in Nepal in last Sunday’s Kathmandu Post. Howard claimed this downtrodden and

James Sharrocknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-55449663697000208152009-01-08T23:24:00.002+05:302009-01-08T23:30:39.202+05:30

TKP 5/1/2009 D.P. Tripathy is general secretary of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of India. He has a long connection with Nepal and, along with Sitaram Yechury, was instrumental in facilitating the alliance of Nepal's mainstream political parties and the Maoists against the monarchy. Tripathy is currently on a visit to Kathmandu, and Aditya Adhikari took the opportunity to ask him about his

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-55956839269611750752009-01-08T23:19:00.000+05:302009-01-08T23:24:05.846+05:30

TKP 29/12/2008The Royal Nepal Army (and other state security forces) and Maoists abducted hundreds of people, the majority of them innocent civilians, during the decade-long conflict in Bardiya district. They were subjected to prolonged and systematic torture and humiliation, and were in a number of cases, extrajudically executed. On Dec. 19, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-87730648987768329402009-01-08T23:15:00.001+05:302009-01-08T23:18:37.167+05:30

TKP 22/12/2008Eight months after the Constituent Assembly elections, the public debate on federalism stands more or less where it did a year ago. Political leaders continue to publicly posture with their demands, and there have been no attempts to reach beyond party lines and find consensus on crucial issues that will determine the future of the country.To first take the case of the Madheshi

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-74044637564337588472009-01-08T23:03:00.004+05:302009-01-08T23:13:50.503+05:30

TKP 21/12/2008Ramesh Nath Pandey, 67, has a reputation for being one of the more astute observers of international affairs in Nepal. He has been minister five times under various governments, most recently Minister of Foreign Affairs under former King Gyanendra in 2005. Before that, he worked for many years as a journalist and edited the once popular Naya Sandesh weekly and New Herald daily for

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-16586246498193950072009-01-08T22:54:00.003+05:302009-01-08T23:02:33.769+05:30

TKP 15/12/2008Behind the political tumult and the dramatic changes that have occurred in Nepali society over the past half century perhaps lies one simple fact: Nepal has been unable to cope with what in some ways was a forced integration into the wider world and global economy.Underlying the veneer of modernity of some of its cities, despite the vastly increased mobility of its people and the

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-65023544402192380102009-01-05T04:47:00.011+05:302009-01-05T06:16:53.416+05:30

!WARNING READER ALERT! mesocosm moves from the political to the very personal and plump below. Click away now if you came here to learn about chocofun, migrant rights or the Nepali peace process.Dear reader(s) my weight yo-yos around seasonal and geographical factors beyond my control. No, not the moon or the tides. Thing is I am fat in Nepal in warm weather but I become thin in the UK in cold

James Sharrocknoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-8604853812511390772009-01-02T02:59:00.004+05:302009-01-02T04:31:21.396+05:30

TKP 21/12/08Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts, is more than simply a novel. It is a world within a world, a huge sprawling mega-book. To review Shantaram also means looking at the many different needs this extraordinary novel seems to answer. Normally, what is good in fiction is usually fresh and original and what is not worth reading is hackneyed and stale. But there is no point in judging

James Sharrocknoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-40137291169094280842008-12-23T01:03:00.003+05:302008-12-23T01:09:21.711+05:30

TKP 22/12/08The Gulf States’ army of remittance workers must run the gauntlet of risky working conditions, corrupt employers and often crippling debt obligations before they can send their hard-earned wages back to their home countries, and have few places to turn to for assistance if they find themselves in trouble. The Gulf is a dangerous place for migrant labourers from all over the

Sophia Furberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177157461069232672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-66089374231548798562008-12-20T15:38:00.017+05:302008-12-20T21:30:38.401+05:30

Several years ago an elderly brother and sister sent our family the best Christmas letter I have ever read. They were well-known eccentrics who lived together in a small village in the east of England. They could recount the whole history of the local area as if it happened yesterday and they never failed to ask me 'when are you joining the merchant navy?' each time we met. Here is the last part

James Sharrocknoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-67797609114247071082008-12-12T03:30:00.003+05:302008-12-12T03:37:15.686+05:30

TKP 29/11/2008Are news reports about hundreds of Nepalis leaving their country each day to work abroad sad and depressing? Lant Pritchett, the author of Let Their People Come: Breaking the Gridlock on Labour Mobility, doesn't think so. Pritchett is an economist who used to work for the World Bank. He believes that the biggest boost that the West can give to poor nations is not more aid, trade or

James Sharrocknoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-24744528043858852802008-12-11T03:16:00.013+05:302008-12-11T03:44:11.899+05:30

Look what Gurkhas in the British Army get up to in their spare time. The film concentrates on Amrit Limbu's Buddha creation but there are other ornate lard-based creations briefly shown at the start including my favourite: man with horse.Its not the Gurkhas who are odd and 'bored' though. Apparently:Fat carving is a very old European tradition which grew out of a desire to decorate and embellish

James Sharrocknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-41506468595412954742008-12-09T22:12:00.003+05:302008-12-09T22:22:00.087+05:30

TKP 9/12/2008China prefers to have a single Nepali partner which has a stable grasp over the state. It was the monarchy in the past; now it seems to have found in the CPN (Maoist) the elusive, stable one-door partner.The recent visits to Kathmandu by a number of high-level diplomats from various countries -- the British minister for International Development, the foreign ministers of India, China

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-877624274448968122008-12-09T00:39:00.007+05:302008-12-09T00:55:57.180+05:30

TKP 9/12/2008Chandra Dev Khanal 'Baldev' is a Central Committee member of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and Deputy Commander of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). He shares joint responsibility, along with Nanda Kishore Pun 'Pasang', of the command of all seven divisions of the Maoist army, and is particularly responsible for the first and second divisions. Baldev spoke to Aditya

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-91176309345478534202008-12-06T02:10:00.010+05:302008-12-06T03:22:54.533+05:30

''Ever since I came to Dubai seven years ago, I have been using this[cassette player] to talk to my wife and children and hear their voices. I havestarted making calls in the last few years, but there is nothing more comfortingthan listening to my wife's voice on a cassette player," -Mohammed Hussain,Bangladeshi worker in DubaiUAE-based paper Gulf News ran this story recently about the practice

Sophia Furberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177157461069232672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-7761660394130597702008-12-04T02:25:00.004+05:302008-12-04T02:31:06.253+05:30

TKP 13/11/08Around this time just before Christmas INGOs and development organisations across Europe are gearing up for their big Christmas fundraising appeals. Christmas has always been a time for fundraising and ongoing global economic problems won't alter that. So, right about now, potential donors in the West will be reading newsletters and e-mails all about the work of charities or NGOs

James Sharrocknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-69346997415386892592008-12-02T23:00:00.001+05:302008-12-02T23:02:11.613+05:30

TKP 02/12/2008The recent Maoist proposal on federalism shows a party struggling to match ideology with domestic and international realitiesWhen all attention was focused on the internal struggle within the Maoists earlier this month, the Maoist Minister for Culture and State Restructuring Gopal Kirati released a policy document that offered a model of federalism. This document was widely

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-63209789973920736262008-11-25T10:32:00.002+05:302008-11-25T10:36:02.857+05:30

TKP 25/11/2008The Maoists unofficially moved beyond the 'democratic republic' strategy soon after the abolition of the monarchyThe party will not split,” a vulnerable Prachanda was quoted as saying last week, after his paper on the future strategy of his party faced serious opposition from a large number of central committee members led by Maoist purist Mohan Vaidya 'Kiran'. Ironically, the

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-30802059160570116242008-11-24T02:21:00.014+05:302008-11-24T19:55:41.003+05:30

The world’s rich are having a party, and millions living in poverty are the ones footing the bill. This is the premise of environmentalist Pradip Saha’s latest film, Mean Sea Level, which looks at the impact of climate change on the inhabitants of Ghoramara and Sagar Islands in the Sunderbans Delta. As the sea level rises and takes with it homes and livelihoods in the delta, the villagers of

Sophia Furberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177157461069232672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-88704404835341348622008-11-19T08:51:00.001+05:302008-11-19T08:54:28.502+05:30

TKP 17/11/2008The Rules of Procedures governing the functioning of the Constituent Assembly (CA) have, after months of disagreement over two of its provisions, finally been passed. An ambitious schedule has been set according to which the constitution will be endorsed by April 2010. The disagreements that held up the promulgation of the procedures seemingly rested on minor technical issues: the

Aditya Adhikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05610718809357705932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-90318905681613058882008-11-12T22:50:00.001+05:302008-11-12T22:52:01.946+05:30

TKP 11/11/2008At a conference in Delhi last week on India's neighbours organized by the Institute of Defense Studies and Analyses (IDSA), a think-tank affiliated to India's Ministry of Defense, an argument took place between delegates from Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Afghan, an advisor to the late leader of the Northern Alliance Ahmad Shah Massoud, blamed Pakistan of continuing to foment unrest

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TKP 4/11/2008International NGOs once focused their development efforts on basic attempts to modernize agriculture and infrastructure, and provide services. Gradually however came the recognition that in many places where highly unequal social relations prevailed, the international aid effort benefited only the privileged and contributed in reinforcing the prevailing social order.So a shift

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TKP 3/11/2008Purna Man Shakya is a leading constitutional expert and corporate lawyer who, along with two other lawyers, worked as a consultant to the Constituent Assembly (CA) secretariat and drafted the rules and procedures to govern the assembly. He holds LLM degrees from Delhi University (where he was a gold medallist) and Columbia University, New York (where he was a Fulbright scholar). He

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TKP 02/11/2008When was the last time you heard the well-worn phrase 'Nepali time'? The phrase usually sits in as shorthand for the failure of meetings to start on time and the inability of people to turn up on time. Perhaps it was first used when a foreign development worker, naively expecting a prompt start to work one morning, became exasperated at the non-appearance of Nepalis. Maybe then a

James Sharrocknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-9210387964674076132008-10-29T17:13:00.015+05:302008-10-29T17:55:51.974+05:30

I found this on a computer in Kathmandu. It is obviously an application for study in the USA from a Nepali. It contains mistakes and bad English. Ignore those and look at the arguments the author makes and his/her idea of Nepal. I've removed all possible identifying details. Statement of PurposeI was born on Nepal, a beautiful and a neutral country situated in the southeast of Asia. My country

James Sharrocknoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7211414962452535124.post-51408594553867118352008-10-28T08:36:00.001+05:302008-10-28T08:38:28.828+05:30

TKP 28/10/2008“The feudalists are no longer landowners,” says a Nepalgunj-based Maoist activist who, during the war, was responsible for dispensing ready justice through the party's 'people's courts'. “It is exploiters in Malaysia and the Gulf who are the new feudalists. Landowners can no longer be made the target of a revolt.”The topic under discussion is land reform, one of the main planks of

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TKP 27/10/2008C.P. Gajurel, 59, is a politburo member and chief of the foreign affairs bureau of the CPN (Maoist) party. In August 2003, while he was attempting to from to London from Chennai airport with forged travel documents, he was arrested and spent three years in jail in Chennai. Following the second People's Movement of 2006, and the entry of the Maoists into mainstream politics, he was

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TKP 21/10/2008The most recent attempt by the Nepali Congress to raise voices against the Maoists and attempt to undercut their popular base has taken the form of a series of articles in various newspapers that raise the spectre of totalitarian dictatorship. The Maoist alliance with the old parliamentary parties, this line of reasoning goes, was merely tactical. The Maoists agreed that Nepal

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TKP 14/10/2008Since Prachanda emerged aboveground two years ago, the once feared and mysterious leader has conducted much activity under the scrutiny of the public eye, and in the process revealed himself as a person of various personalities:The rebel leader: The most prominent of his personas in the period before the Constituent Assembly election. Prachanda stood before masses of people,

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