These opinions are mine and I swear no one else's
Archive for October, 2007
It’s Official : No CA Elections on 22 Nov.
01584 days
by Rabin
in Young Ideas
So at last, Constituent Assembly Election slated for November 22 is called off. Maoists didn’t move away from their 2 key demands i.e. Declaration of Republican and Full-proportional election system. Seven Party Alliance’s marathon discussions also couldn’t convince Maoists and now we don’t know when there will be election. The Election Commission on Friday (i.e. today) has decided to cancel all the election programmes after the government requested it to suspend the Constituent Assembly election slated November 22 in a letter.
The commission had finished all necessary preparations to hold the elections on the given date, but as per the government’s request to suspend the entire election process, the decision has been taken, the EC stated in a press statement today.
Now the CA Polls seems to be mirage at last. In 2007 B.S. also The CA Polls issue was raised but never did it happen. Now also same is happening. Shame on our Parties!! I am deeply saddened.
See news on Kantipuronline.com
nepalnews.com
Previous posts:
May be No CA Polls? Why? Maoists don’t want.
When we forget our origin…..
01585 days
by Rabin
in Young Ideas
After Prashant Tamang was crowned Indian Idol Darjeeling made news headlines protesting against the racism remarks made by Delhi based FM RED FM’s RJ who reportedly said “If every nepali wins Indian Idol, who would do our Chaukidari (guarding)”. Many protests were organised and now Indian government handed week long ban over the FM as punishment. But the debate didn’t stop there.
After sometime, Senior journalist Swaraj Thapa (of Financial Express) wrote one article at IBNLIVE commenting on the issue and search of Gorkha’s identity. His remarks shows how he has forgotten his own origins and himself has got mindset alike of many Indians who think all Nepali people are poor and do work of only watchman.
He remembered how many Nepalis cross the boarder for work but forgot how many Indians does the same. He remembered Nepali people are snatching jobs of Indians but forgot that Nepalis’ role in protecting their boarder.
I have posted his write-up as it is.
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Racism on radio: One man’s innuendo, country’s mindset
Last week, the hills of Darjeeling erupted in a mass outrage following an idle chatter by a radio jockey of a Delhi-based FM radio station, in which the RJ described recently crowned Indian Idol Prashant Tamang, as ‘chowkidwar se Indian Idol’.
The radio jockey’s racist remarks on Prashant Tamang’s win marks the beginning of a big debate. Senior journalist Swaraj Thapa looks at the larger issue of Gorkha identity and the Indian mindset. Read on…
The controversy surrounding insensitive, derogatory and discriminatory remarks made by a Red FM radio jockey in the backdrop of Prashant Tamang winning the Indian Idol contest on Sony TV has, for once, put the small, shy community of Indian Gorkhas into the limelight. Yet, the larger point, painfully, is being missed completely in the debate.
The inflammatory comments of the RJ, which saw instant condemnation from one and all, is not merely about the Laxmanrekha to be drawn by the radio broadcasting community or the guidelines that a radio jockey has to follow while going about his job.
It is also not just about sensitisation levels that have to be kept in mind while cracking jokes against some other class or community.
On the contrary, it deals with the grave issue of national identity and existence of the small population of Indian Gorkhas, who are very much a part of India. The RJ’s comments are representative of the mindset of mainstream India that seeks to paint ethnic Indian Gorkhas and hordes of Nepalese nationals working in India with the same brush.
Ethnic Indian Gorkhas have been facing this peculiar problem of being mistaken for someone else in their own country right since Independence. This, despite the fact that Indian Gorkhas have been a part and parcel of India’s developmental process for centuries. The tallest statue in the premises of Parliament, of the valiant Shaheed Durga Malla who fought against the British and was hanged in Delhi jail, is testimony to the contribution of Indian Gorkhas to the freedom struggle. Yet, even after being equal partners in nation building, having shed the same amount of blood as anybody else, they have never found the acknowledgement accorded to other communities in India.
Why should Indian Gorkhas, who are all over India but predominant in Darjeeling hills, Sikkim, Assam, Dehradun and Himachal Pradesh, be discriminated against in their own country? We may be small in numbers. But that does not mean we should be denied the right to be equal stakeholders in the country’s progress. Doesn’t this amount to violation of the fundamental of Right to Equality in our Constitution?
The culprit that has caused this identity problem for Indian Gorkhas is the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between India and Nepal signed in 1950. The Treaty was conceived as a strategic device to forestall military offensives from China. The then home minister Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel gave shape to such a Treaty with the intention of creating a buffer between India and China. The Treaty, still in operation, however, has caused irreparable damage to Indian Gorkhas by repeatedly raising doubts about their nationality.
The reciprocal treaty enables Nepalese nationals to cross over freely into India, without passports or any other travel document, work and set up houses. Hence since 1950, thousands of Nepalese nationals have crossed the border everyday and intermingled with the Indian population. Being illiterate, poor and simple, they have serviced the menial job sector, so much so that they have become synonymous with it. But this is where the problem arises. Indian Gorkhas are clubbed together with the migrant Nepalese population which invade India. Apples and Oranges are put together in the same basket.
Bollywood has only compounded the identity crisis for Indian Gorkhas by the unfair picturisation in films. The contribution of Mala Sinha, heroine of yesteryears or that of Vinod Pradhan, the hottest cinematographer of today or the talent of Louis Banks—all of them Indian Gorkhas—is conveniently overlooked to present an unfair image of the community.
So is there a solution which can obliterate the ambiguity over status of Indian Gorkhas?
To begin with, the 1950 Treaty with Nepal must be scrapped immediately. Till the time Nepalese nationals keep on entering India without valid identification and travel documents, problems will continue to arise for Indian Gorkhas. There does not seem any evident advantage, strategic or otherwise, for India to persist with this Treaty. On the contrary, it has only taken away lakhs of jobs going to Nepalese nationals, which otherwise would have gone to our people. The government will also have to put an end to recruitment of people from Nepal into the armed forces. And third, it will also have to favorably consider the demand for statehood, as a means to compensate and address the issue of identity of Indian Gorkhas.
(Swaraj Thapa is Political Bureau Chief with Financial Express, New Delhi)
Breaking the popular trend and returning to Nepal
121587 days
by Rabin
in Young Ideas
Data suggests Nepali students going abroad for studies are increasing dramatically. Let’s not talk about foreign bounding Nepalis in working visas. Among foreign bound students, have you ever thought how many of them return? Your ovious answer would be they return but just for vacation or family meeting. Come on, anyone with US or UK education degree gets opportunities there no matter whatever form it is, so why would they come to Nepal leaving their careers and bright future (and of course money) there. Every day I might stumble upon many people who are dying hard to go abroad no matter at any costs. Seeing the fragile condition of Nepal, who wants to put their career on risk. Their concern is genuine enough if we think from their perspective. But when we, so called philosophically advance and patriotic people, see such lots, we cry saying who would save country if everyone wants to go away. I used to feel though philosophically at least there are people who cries over foreign bounding people.
But when I got one experience of US returnee via email, it put question on my own attitude and the way I look at everything. Reading his email made me feel sick with our own hypocrisy. Why I felt so, why don’t you read the email below yourself and find out yourself
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Breaking the popular trend and returning to Nepal
By Sulav Bhatta
Ever since I came back from the US eight months ago, the most common question I have faced is regarding my “naive” decision to return. In my opinion, this is a wrong question to be asked. They should be asking why people do not return after completing their studies. To satisfy people’s curiosity I tell them that this is my country and I have come back because I feel that I can do something here with my engineering degree. But people seem less convinced with my answer.
They give me a strange, funny look.
The US, undoubtedly, is one of the most developed countries in the world. It is full of opportunities and it treats hardworking people very well. However, it is not Nepal, the country of our birth, where we enjoy an intricate feeling of belongingness. I have no hard feelings against the US; it treated me very well during my six years there. . I think all Nepalese should go to the US at least once in life to learn about freedom, hard work, fairness, positive attitude, accountability, sense of responsibility etc. After experiencing US life, I wanted to come to Nepal and give it a shot. I adjusted my expectation level accordingly because it would be ridiculous to expect things here to be the way they are in the west.
However, after spending about eight months is Nepal, I have some idea about why I was “mocked”. Currently I am doing my MBA as well. When I went to join the MBA programme, the college was locked due to some problem at Pokhara University. Our student coordinator who took my interview asked me why I came back. This was a strange question because she herself studied in the US and then returned to Nepal. I could not help but think that people are very frustrated with the current situation here. Regular class interruption due to Nepal bandh etc. is a part of life and something I am used to by now. Some of my MBA colleagues are in the process of applying for the US. If they get the visa, they would have no qualms about leaving the MBA program here.
What has really motivated me to write this article is the recent turn of events. There was vacancy for engineers at Nepal Telecom, and naturally I thought of applying. Since I have a certificate from the US, I was asked to present a TU equivalent for my US degree. I went to TU and filled up the necessary paperwork. Then they asked me to take my documents to Pulchowk Engineering College (PEC). They needed recommendations from PEC before they can form a committee and decide. Fair enough. Now, I go to Pulchowk only to discover that the Dean’s Office has been locked down since the past two months due to the strike of the students. I asked the guy there if there was anything at all that could be done so that my credentials could be evaluated. He told me there was little, if any, chance for that. Then he asked me where I did my engineering. I told him and his eyes lightened up. Then he asked me the same question that I was already expecting— why did I return?!
I came back home tired and frustrated. My parents were eagerly waiting to know if my problem got solved. I told them what happened and what the guy had said. I tried not to show my frustration. My parents, who were once overjoyed when I came back from the US, are having second thoughts now. They are wondering whether they should have ordered their only son to come back. This is a very ironic situation. However, I still stand by my decision to come back. I just hope that somehow I never have to regret my decision. My problem is just a tip of the iceberg that the people here are facing. I find that our system is so broken up that it needs immediate and thorough change. If something is not done soon enough, we might alienate our young and productive generation so much that the only people remaining in Nepal would be the retired and old people. If we take the case of India, a lot of young people are returning from the US because they can now get same opportunity in India itself. This is helping India a lot. We all know how India has developed over the past few years. We should also try to attract our young, talented people back to Nepal. And I know that there are a lot of people out there who would love to come back if there is stability and opportunity here. I would like to request everyone to do whatever they can in their capacity so that people do not have to run away from Nepal.
Trust me, you can make a difference!
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His determination has given me new dimension – A new thought and vision. Hopefully, after reading this article, our perspective would change and we will create environment to work together to make Nepal a better place.
Wat ya Said!