The Nepal Digest - 6 October 1993

[RAJesh B. Shrestha]

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The Nepal Digest Wednesday, 6 October 93 Volume 20: Issue 4

Today's Topics:

1. Article - What's Up GIS?
2. Kehi_Bichar - Theory of Induction (last part)
3. Letter to the Editor - Dhruba Khanal
4. Kehi_Bichar - Arun III
5. Kura_Kani - Education in Nepal
6. Kehi_Bichar - Ashu's Rumblings
7. Kehi_Bichar - Comments on Commnets
8. News from Nepal {screened}

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Date: Mon, 04 Oct 1993 19:40:35 CDT
To: nepal-...@cs.niu.edu
From: RKP...@VENUS.TAMU.EDU
Subject: INTRODUCTION.

Hello Fellow TND Members,

I am delighted to be a part of this E-mail community. It is a great tool the
technology has provided us.

I want to thank my friend Mr. Rajpal J. Singh for introducing me to this
communication network. Mr. Singh and I sat one day in his office to get into
the world of E-mail. I was fascinated by the beauty of the E-mail.

I hope to contribute something to this network and TND, and maybe broaden my
horizon with the knowledge of fellow members.

I am currently doing Master of Science in Information System at the University
of Texas at Tyler.

WHAT'S UP? GIS?
--------------- By Robin Pandey

Wouldn't you like to drive a Mitsubishi Eclipse with a geographic computer
monitor(navigator) in it? I would. Why? Because this computer has all the
maps of highways and streets. Say, I am driving on highway 20 to go to Dallas,
I won't have to worry about getting lost if I have the computer to tell me
where I am at.

How did they design a computer like that? Of course. That's when the term GIS
come on the centre stage. GIS stands for Geographic Information System.

What is a GIS? A GIS is an analytical tool to identify the spatial relationship
s
between map features. It is done by the computers. A GIS does not store a map,
nor does it store a particular image or view of a geographical area. Instead, a
GIS stores the DATA from which you can draw a desired view to suit a particular
purpose like draw a map of Lakeshore Drive when I am driving on it. With the
navigator you don't have to draw it manually it draws by itself.

What are other applications of GIS? British are developing utility systems and
creating a comprehensive topographic database with GIS.

Canadians developed forestry application to plan the volume of timbre to cut,
identify access to the timber, and export the results to provincial government
with the use of GIS.

In the U.S., the U.S. Bureau of Census and the U.S. Geographical Survey used GI
S
for thier Topological Integrated Geographic Encoding and References(TIGER)
project. They produced a computerize description of the U.S. transportation
network to facilitate and reporting the 1990 census.

Local government use GIS for planning and zoning, property assessment, parcel
mapping, public safety, and environmental planning; management of forested,
agricultural, and coastal lands and energy and mineral management.

GIS supports the daily activities of automated mapping and facilities managemen
t
with application for electricity, water, sewer, gas, telecommunications and
cable TV utilities, using capabilities such as load management, trouble call
analysis, voltage drop, basement generation and maitenance, line system analys
i
, leak detection, and inventory. Demographers use GIS for target market
analysis, facility citing, address matching and geocoding, as well as product
profiles, forecasting, and planning. GIS also has an increasing role in
supporting education and research in the classroom, computer lab, the research
institute, and the public library. And many more you can IMAGINE.

How do you get more information on GIS? There are few number of books in your
library, also have an International Journal for Geographic Information System.
You can also take a class at the participating college or university.

It is definitely a plus experience to get a job.

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Date: Sun, 26 Sep 93 00:53:01 JST
From: g44...@nucc.cc.nagoya-u.ac.jp (G. Pokharel)
To: ne...@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Theory of Induction Part IV

I guess all readers know to some
extent what is civil engineering and what they do. I would
rather suggest you to study this engineering if you have interest
in high rise to any construction works provided/if you have not yet
decided your future. In America alone civil engineers were 3 rd highest
individual earners, first of course, Medical Doctors, second lawyers.
This was in 70s and now 5th because computer science became 2nd and
electronics as 3rd. Please refer, sci.engr.civil for news groups in
email system. If you need you can get more informations in
civil engineering. We need talented civil engineer in this long
term and non-flopped housing industry to make it worth. May be
you are the right person. Me as a civil engineer I want my colleague
a better and talented guy. So, you can read the American Society
of Civil Engineer's bi-monthly journnall "PROFESSIONAL ISSUES
IN ENGINEERING PROFESSION AND EDUCATION". You may get more
optimistic information. But, there is no such Civil Engineering
Society in Nepal. In developed countries, the laws related to
construction are suggested by civil engineering societies. But,
I regret we donot have any provisions.....................
In Japan also every year they have annual meeting of Japanese
Society of Civil Engineers and there they discuss about the
problems in profession and laws. They give suggestions to the
government. I guess there is no representaion from civil engineer
in Raj Shava in which country's major investment is in construction
industry i.e. housing industry. That is the reason why we are behind.
This is not advertisement of my profession. I love my profession.
Lets think positively. If we think positive we have many features.
=================================================================-

So, we need to change this style of housing industry. Everybody
wants to live in good house , but, I suggest we better make our
good house in our own village/town and live in Kathmandu in a
good apartment type of house so that you will not be stressed
of making many houses and saving big sum of money. Can go back
to the beloved country and start serving the nation from early
stage of life, so that you will get better job and promotion and
in later days can be good planner or ..... instead of living in
this Birano deshama where we will always be second class citizen.
=================================================================-
====even if you change your citizen you can call u as Nepali====-
=================================================================-
An example: I met an american citizen, whose father migrated
from Spain. He also has american citizen, but, when I ask "Who are
you ?" He replied with proud, "I am spainsh". But, he explained his
full background why he don't consider himself an American.

On the otherhand, I met an Indian (in his childhood) in an
international conference. During our closing party, he came towards
our dining table and set. One my Srilankan frnd. was sitting there. Then
I asked him, where are u from, "Are you from India, your name seems
an Indian ?" I guessed looking at his badge over the suit. Then he
replied me "No, I am american. I have american citizenship." I again
asked him "Can you speak indian language, since I was in indian for
my undergraduate course." He said "I actually was born in UP....
but I went to US for my study and changed my citizen around 10/15
years back. In last 15 years I forget Hindi language." So, he
didnot want to say he is an Indian. What is the difference between
these two peoples. It upto you how u iterate yourself. How you
change yourself. (Sorry for discontinuation in writing)
==================================================================--

(continued from here Mark 1)
So, this is a group work. In my life, If i get chance to talk with
any responsible persons I will explain this problem. This is
what we know , how we are suffering , how peoples are living
in a building in a small congested space. There is solution,
but these peoples who are suffering donot know how to solve
and law does not have any provisions about this possibility.
I talked this problem with an architect, then he replied that
our law does not have any provision to sell space along sky. Law
says only land is property i.e. area. If you want to expand you
either sell whole land to a rich person or make only one storey
building and live there. This is the reason why peoples are
reluctant to make apartment type of housing system. The residents
cannot buy the space i.e. rooms. The company can sell the space
to peoples for many years once they finish const. and take responsiblity
for making and hand over to some other company for operations or for
maintenance on contract basis. So, there will be maintenance
company.

3. Economic Problems:
Once the space above groundfloor is also evaluated
the government can impose a new tax (my idea) system like impose
more tax to those peoples who live in single storeyed building
specially cities. And subsidise the tax as floor goes up.
So that TAX = 1st FL x 1.0 + 2nd floor x .8 + 3rd floor x .75
..................
Do you understand, what I want to say ? Peoples will
go for high rise building than lateral expansion. Generally,
when a general foundation is laid, the building can go for
few stories. So, the cost per floor is decreased. (Average).
On the other hand, since tax is also lower, peoples will automatically
switch for more floors than making a new house on new area. If the
space can be purchased in cheaper rate , why should I buy a new
4/5 ana land rather than making a large floor area in the same price.
The structure can be designed by a professional engineer and can
be supervised by engineers and can maintain the quality of constru-
ction , so these engineers will help you in building the quality
of life. American Society of Civil Engineers says, "Civil Engineers
make the difference, they build the quality of life". Let them
supervise our structure and build the quality of life in quality
housing. Surely, the engineered house less costly than a house
made by kully supervised by u only based on the head naike.

Furthermore, with
same price we can enjoy life in large space. If we donot make many
house means we are very close to the city centre. Less waste of
time in commuting. Can divert that time in some other productive
work. More time for our family members. You can guide your
children, then you are checking the quality of their educaiton
level everyday. Tution (Nepali meaning of Tution fee)
fee is reduced. So, the tution fee can be
diverted to some other work or your salary is more surplus than
when you go far from city centre. So, it is also economically
feasible way to solve the housing problem. When we have
apartment type of housing system, then we can make combined
rooms for TV, Table Tennis, and few guest rooms in case of
guests. When there is TV in common TV room, we can watch TV
programs there like we did in AIT. The cost for CNN to ABC
can be shared. WE can watch whats happeining in the world
with few rupees. There can be common VIDEO and so every saturday
we can have nice movies. No need to have separate connection for
CNN or Sony Black trinton Bilangual Stereo type of TV. So, we are
relieved from these costly imported equipments. Then the money
can surely be invested to buy share of the company who made the
house for you. the company needed money so you can share it. In
this sense the house belongs to you indirectly. You feel responsible
because your money is spent in building the house. When the company
is in benefit you will certainly be given the bonas. Hence,
"Money attracts money" is true.

In next letter, the social security, and other possibilities
will be discussed. The banking system i.e. high rate of loan
interest is also a main reason why people donot want to get
loan. How can you return 20% interest per year, before your
house is ready. My friend is staying in a house which was
made about 40 years before. The loan was given for 50 years.
The interest rate is very low. So, when the loan is returned
the house will be dismantled and make a new house as the company
already got equal sum to make new house. The life of the house
is also over. Most engineered house have 50 years service period
i.e. design period. So, there will be new house in Next 15 years.
So, the banks should also change.

Example: My induction theory need some example to apply
to produce some rules. In all developed countries, the major
rapid transit system, expressway etc.... are made by private
companies with a constract basis. Like in bangkok all tollway
should pay (return) the loan within next 30 years of contract
if cannnot they will loose. After the contract expires, the tollway
is the national property and will be fully owned by government.
If so , they will complete construction
very fast and starts operation early so that the company is
in benefit. So, we can have such provisions.

In Japan, same style. All railways track are constructed
by different private companies. The track only belongs to some
company and only train belongs to some other company. Ticketing
i.e. management in railway station belongs to some other company
so they are working in group. But, they are very efficient. We
can have our rail way system in Terai. The track can be constructed
by some companies. Operation by some others. Since, the private
airline industry is already started and had shown positive
response, so, there are chances in every directions. There are
peoples who have money to build our quality of life and make
us different. You are the right person, with such good amount
of money. WE can invest it, but, we should have gurantee that
the money will be used in proper way. There should be check.
We cannot spend our panchamrit equivalent money in balua.
So, lets hope some thing rather than 4/5 ana and box type
of house. Lets do it.

Sayonara and Namaskar !
Thanks
Pokharel
Pokhara

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Date: Tue, 5 Oct 93 10:04:27 MDT
From: dkh...@nyx.cs.du.edu (Dhruba Khanal)
To: ne...@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Comments

Dear Editor,

I have been receiving TND for the last few months and I commend
the works and efforts that you have put towards publishing it regularly.

The thing I am concerned about is that you have given very little
space for the news of nepal...and have given almost 90 percent of
the space for the gossips like the one one you have recently publised
published about the "engineers"..I would very much like to be up to date
on the present day situation in Nepal - political, economic..and so on..
rather than knowing what "engineers" are and what they do...and I think
most of the readers of the TND agree with me.

Thank you.

Dhruba Khanal
New York, N.Y.
dkh...@nyx.cs.du.edu
kha...@unfpa.org

%%%%%EDITOR'S NOTE: I need not elaborate. On the same note I ask %%%%%%%
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%%%%% TND does not subscribe to any news papers or %%%%%%%
%%%%% magazines from Nepal (the possibility is there %%%%%%%
%%%%% if members are interested). The only news %%%%%%%
%%%%% access editor has is electronic media. If %%%%%%%
%%%%% subscribers can send enough news, it will %%%%%%%
%%%%% surely be given the first priority. So, start %%%%%%%
%%%%% gathering those news clips in your free time %%%%%%%
%%%%% (if you can shy away from your research, family%%%%%%%
%%%%% and job for few minutes) today :-) %%%%%%%
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Subject: letter to the editor:Arun 3
From: SCHI...@MAINE.BITNET
To: ne...@cs.niu.edu
Date: Tue, 05 Oct 93 12:31:10 EDT

I would like to say something about Arun 3 projects. Things I've written her
e is my very personal point of view.
First thing I would like to point out is; Is Arun 3 project good for Nepal?
It's a very big project, which involves a large amount of money. Who's gon'na
pay all the costs? Nepales people, of course. Till now, we don't have any effic
ient way of raising money to pay for these kinds of projects. Simply, there wil
l be an another raise in electricity costs. Even now, the electricity in Nepal
is so expensive, I can't think what will happen after Arun 3. The goverment sho
uld have other alternative source of paying, rather than making a simple people
pay for it.
And there is an issue of enviroment. Many people had said from time to time,
Arun 3 will be very hazardous to the enviroment around it. There will be a mass
ive distruction of the enviroment. Shouldn't this be taken into consideration?
I think insread of big project like Arun 3, it will be more appropriate if
the goverment give more emphasis on small projects. I think small projects are
more economical to construct and maintain.
I think it won't be wise for the goverment to act in such a hurry about Arun
3. After all if someone have to pay and suffer, that's gon'na be Nepalese peopl
e and their children.
I think these things are worth mentioning here, things like these can change
the fate of Nepal and Nepalese. And that's all I have to say.
Happy Vijaya Dashami to all. Have a nice time.

Namaste
Sagun Chitrakar

**************************************************************
From: Kanhaiya Vaidya <Kanh...@OFM.WA.GOV>
To: 'nepal' <ne...@cs.niu.edu>, 'Ashutosh' <tiw...@husc.harvard.edu>
Subject: Education in Nepal: Recollections and Reflections.
Date: Tue, 05 Oct 93 11:39:00 PDT

Here are some of my recollections and reflections (some ramblings
included :-) ) on the subject of Education in Nepal. Some of the readers,
especially younger ones, might find it a little amusing, some might find it
interesting, and others might find it as not quite different from their
own. It+s part of my experience with different schools in different
places. This account is not meant to be complete. (hey! what you expect
from me in a lunch break?) Apparently, hardly anyone is addressing the
issue after Ashu proposed the discussion topic several days ago.
Embarrassing? bhutrai siti, who cares! Hopefully, this will further the
discussion and open up some of the minds.

Things have changed so much so fast. By the time I was thirteen
years old, I had already moved to six different places from Baglung to
Rajbiraj. When I was growing up, we didn+t have much of a choice regarding
schools. There were no "private" school or boarding school. Everyone in
the neighborhood went to the same school in the village/town/area. Hadn+t
heard of English boarding schools until some kids of very rich families
would come to town during their vacations and speak in half-Nepali-half-
English language. We would watch them as if they were from a different
planet.

Some of the "schools" I went to had nice furniture (like
benches/chairs and desks. we broke some of them though), some had "sukuls",
whereas others didn+t have ANY furniture at all (may be a chair for the
Guru/Sir/Master Saheb). I still remember my school in Kunchha (Lamjung).
At least walls and roof were there for most of the class rooms. Often the
classes were held outdoors (no need to worry about furniture that way!).
In the class rooms, we had made "chairs" and "benches" of rocks/stones.
The school was about 30 minutes (?) uphill walk from the "bhanjyang"
through the dense "chilaune" trees and thorny "katus" outer shells on the
ground (most of the kids didn+t have shoes!). It was a scary path if you
are late for/from school, because we would see hardly anyone on our way
to/from school. We were scared of wild animals including monkeys who would
hang around the "katus" trees and chase the kids. When we moved to
Rajbiraj in Tarai, I was dismayed that most of the textbooks were in Hindi
(like the ones that stated that Lumbini and Mt. Everest are in India!!),
and some of the teachers used to teach in Hindi.

The point is, whatever the condition of the schools, I have come to
realize that we were extremely lucky just to have a school in the area and
we were able to attend the school. Also, we can+t thank enough our
parents/guardians who "made" us go to school despite all the hardships,
temptations, and distractions. Since there was no choice of schools, we
weren+t concerned about good and bad schools. (Only good and bad teachers
perhaps.)

Later, when I was already beyond high school and in college, a few
private elementary schools opened in the town I was in and elsewhere. Now
there was a choice of schools for those who could afford them. Kids of
well-to-do families would go to private schools and others would go to the
same ol+ "public" schools. The "public" school goers were teased and
humiliated by the private school goers by referring to the public schools
as "bora" school: because the students had to take a "bora" to their school
every day so that they didn+t have to sit on the bare ground! Has anyone
thought of the problem of self-esteem among the kids whose parents are not
rich enough to afford pricey schools? Anyway, I believe quite a few of
those "no furniture schools" and "bora schools" and "public schools"
graduates are doing quite well, thank you very much.

I don+t think the way our students are taught has changed much
lately. Starting with "kapuri ka" through "dui ekan dui ..." to "aham
griham gachchhami" and all those geometry theorems, the emphasis of
learning in our schools, in general, has been on "ghotne" or "ratne" (rote)
(with "tuppi" tied to the ceiling ?? :-) ). Come to think of it, this
"tarika" is nothing new. The disciples of our ancient Gurus and
"Aacharyas" used to learn "mantras" (to shoot "agni baan" and what not, to
keep bad spirits/events away etc.) by the same method. And the "aacharyas"
used to teach and share their wisdom based on "Shruti" and "Smriti" of the
God+s words. We are socialized to obey our elders, and learn to argue with
the equals and others.

In this day and age, the old way of learning doesn+t work. But, the
current centralized testing system and test items do not promote critical
and independent thinking either. If a student tries to be independent and
be critical, he/she risks of getting low grades in the exams.

It+s a tragedy that so many SLC candidates fail English paper every
year. However, can we make English as optional in high school when there
are absolutely not enough college level textbooks in Nepali? (I would
rather have textbooks in English than in Hindi. We already have more than
enough of Hindi influence.) The supposedly increased number of SLC
graduates sans English, will not be able to get into most of the college
programs due to the lack of knowledge of English language; and there aren+t
many "bahidar", "khardar", and "mukhiya" jagirs available to them either.
We need to make sure that there are enough textbooks in Nepali language
BEFORE English is made optional in high school, IF and when we make it
optional. Also, can we afford to go on our own, without learning a foreign
language, in this ever shrinking global village? I don+t think so. Do we
have any master plan regarding what kind of manpower our country needs? or
what kind of education we need to emphasize on? As we know, economic
development also depends upon the number and type of trained and efficient
manpower available. Another aspect to think about the SLC-with-English-as-
optional is : we are going to have three to four times increase in high
school graduates. Where are all the colleges (or jobs) for them? At the
same time, it is absurd to hold back the SLC candidates simply because
there aren+t enough colleges to accommodate them. We expect them to go to
India? Or open a whole bunch of Indian colleges in Nepal? Ke garne?
Something to think about for the planners when they decide to make English
as optional in high school.

Now, let+s suppose we make English as optional in high school. The
so-called elites in Nepal will still end up with an upper hand. Their kids
will be the ones going to the English schools. Their kids will be the ones
going to the medical and engineering schools. In general, the theory is:
Nepali rich and powerful elites send their kids to elite school --> the
elite kids get better education --> they hold better paying jobs --> become
member of the elite group --> send their kids ... and so on and on. The
cycle continues. Of course, few of us break loose from the cycle.

As Ashu has put forth: our best and brightest seem to go into
medicine and engineering careers. Why not? Conventional wisdom is you go
where you can accumulate more money, power, and prestige. Thanks to the
poor sanitation and hygiene, and a lot of construction projects and
consultation business, medical doctors and engineers are doing just fine.
In other fields there are very few opportunities to make a good living,
unless you have a government job in "bhansaar" or where you have "panchai
aunla ghiuma". In teaching, some university professors have been
successful in lining up research projects, and some other
teachers/professors seem to make a good living by running English language
and math "boot camps". Generally, an entry level government
officer/teacher/professor would have real hard time maintaining a basic
living standard. If you are in Kathmandu and don+t have a home of your
own, living becomes pretty challenging. At the same time, the problem of
unemployment is growing very fast. Of course we need experts in a variety
of fields. But do we have jobs for them? Is the current salary (for
salary-ONLY folks) enough to support a family? As long as the government
can not control market price and raise salary, tendency to look for a job
where one can make some easy money will not diminish (will never be
eliminated though).

We agree that the education system in Nepal is badly screwed up. We
need a long term planning to fix the system, not a quick fix for a
temporary period based on the whims of various political interest groups.
However, we know that a lot of things in our education system have changed.

Although literacy rate is still very low and school drop out rates are
high, number of schools/colleges and enrollments have steadily increased.
Many new schools have opened and old ones expanded. All these reflect the
awareness of people toward education. For many, education is the only hope
for a way out of (impending) poverty despite the increase in unemployment.

In the process of overhauling the Nepali education system, the
planners must give a great deal of emphasis on technical/vocational
education. The planners must make education accessible to the mass. And
access to education must be more equitable regardless of wealth of the
parents, geographic location of students and schools, and gender. Simply
because there are private English schools for those who can afford, public
schools should not be neglected. Nepal+s future lies not on those fancy
english schools, but on the success of more accessible public school
system.

Well folks, my lunch time is l..o....n..g over (actually took two).
Someone wants to talk about women in education? How +bout the "neta giri"
and "gunda-giri" in college campuses? Disruption of classes by the so-
called "netas" must be made absolutely unacceptable, legally as wel as
morally. Now, it+s somebody else+s turn to do some ramblings.

All you ramblers, even if you take some licking, you gotta keep on ticking
+-). And all those netters who want more frequent issues of TND and more
non-political discussions and more news about our homeland, please do your
part of the job and contribute. Please.

Dhanyabad and Namaste.
Kanhaiya

**************************************************************
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Just a few comments on Ashu's rumblings:

It is the second time that Ashu Tiwarijee has jumped all over the writings
of two new entrants to the TND. One the one hand, we want the TND to be a
free for all window of expression, and want everybody to participate. On the
other hand, if we start nitpicking too much, you might scare
them off. Both primary contributers and the commentators deserve
an equal opportunity. One of the character that all of us, the readers,
commentators, contributors, and moderators of TND need to work on is
patience.

- Aratijee had every right to express her feelings that continuous use of
Nepali words be avoided, so that non-Nepali readers feel comfortable in
going through the text. In the debate over the use of "Nepali" or
"Nepalese", we lost other perspectives she was trying to bring forth for
further discussion. As an adjective, I personally like Nepali to refer
to the culture of `not only Nepal' but the million others who are
living in Northern India. As a noun, when I make it plural to mean
Nepaliharu, I find it more comfortable to use Nepalese as opposed to the
rather straight (thado bhasa) Nepalis.

- Shuklajee is a learned man of immense experience both in Nepal and the US.
Some of us were not even born when he started his path of personal
struggle with the corrupt bureaucracy in Nepal. If he comments something
that is not palatable to us, we don't have to jump all over
him. We just have to thank him for his honest and pragmatic evaluation.

- I personally admire the outspokeness of Ashu and the enthusiasm with
which he is trying to make TND alive. I agree that we need to learn a lot
in crediting people personally especially across political ideologies and
ethnic heritage.

- There are many ex-students and faculties of TU who are regular
subscribers of TND. I also wonder why nobody has contributed to the
discussion on education yet. Are we too busy learning something and do
not want to talk about education?

- I support the views of Ashu and Rajpal in keeping us informed about
small but beautiful stories from the neighbor nations. I would personally
like more coverage of ethnic cleansing of Tibet and women's,
children's and environmental issues from Indian subcontinent.

- I personaly thank Ashu for his compliments. Please keep up the good
work. Congratulations on your personal achievements on trying to become
Nepali engineer-doctor. You are not the first one though. I know a `she'
electrical engineer- about to become a doctor in a year. Please don't get
discouraged.

Finally, I echo the request of Rajpal and Ashu in inviting more
contributions to TND. It is encouraging that few more have started coming.
The piece on Trekking in Nepal was so homely.

Moderators, contributers, commentators, and readers! Let us be inclusive
and not exclusive.

Happy Vijaya Dashami to all of you.
Padam Sharma

**************************************************************
Date: Tue, 05 Oct 93 15:59:10 EDT
From: Shailendra Shukla <SHU...@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu>
Subject: COMMENTS ON COMMENTS
To: ne...@cs.niu.edu

Before I forget the PROPER NAMES of the correspondents, I want to
make a few quick comments. My original comments were meant to be
my personal observations on how TND could be made better. I have
neither the power nor the desire to stop people from freely
expressing their views. Mr. Rajpal J. Singh deserves all the thanks
for keeping this network going and if in his and his readers' best
judgement NEIGHBORHOOD WATCHES serve useful function, so be it.
Similarly, if people want to ramble, ramble on; I do it all the
time.

I generally enjoy Mr. Ashutosh Tiwari's comments on all kinds of
matters, including his comments on my original letter. However, I
have to protest his one mischievous remark. I can live with his
assumption that I have never heard of Prof. Said (much less read
and understand "Orientalism") but his comment about my use of the
term "gentleman" was quite uncalled for. I do not store TND's and
thus can never be sure who said what. My use of the term
"gentleman" was never meant to be derogatory and I am offended by
Mr. Tiwari's insinuation. I want to assure Mr. Padam Sharma that my
use of the term "gentleman" was used sincerely, notwithstanding Mr.
Tiwari's interpretation.

Shailendra Shukla

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--
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RAJesh B. Shrestha "Himalaya-fresh" rshr...@black.clarku.edu
LSE, Clark University shre...@vax.uk.ac.lse
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