The Nepal Digest - February 20, 1997 (8 Falgun 2053 BkSm)

[Rajesh B. Shrestha]

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The Nepal Digest Thursday 20 Feb 97: Falgun 8 2053BS: Year6 Volume59 Issue 3

Today's Topics:

Why beat up pickpockets only?
Internship Opportunity in Nepal
About Buddha again.
Ambassador Thapa's Speech and Mishra/Tuladhar Reaction
Kathmandu where two religions meet
On Development of Ethics
Nepal Volunteer Opportunites

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* "Democracy perishes among the silent crowd" -Sirdar_Khalifa *
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Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 14:16:41 -0500
To: ne...@cs.niu.edu
Subject: [Fwd: nepalese teenage girls are solded for Bombay brothels.]
From: bel...@ctv.es (Vicente Belmonte)

Please excuse such a long file. But I just couldn't help reporting
this issue, publishing it on the newsgroup. I also ask you, all
readers, to report in the newsgroup any attack to human rights or life
dignity, we all can collaborate to help grow an awareness towards such
things that must be changed. We're particularly sensitive towards
childhood and youth, but all other issues are also welcome.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newspaper EL PAIS, Thursday 23rd of January 1997 (page 32)
SPAIN

Some specialists reckon about 200,000 nepalese teenage girls are
involved in this cruel market. These girls, aged 9 to 16, are sold in
Nepal and end up in Bombay brothels. There they eventually catch 'the
Bombay illness' (that is, AIDS), and are sent back home. Humanitarian
organizations estimate 10,000 of these girls are sent each year to
Bombay, making it the most active slaves traffic in the world.

As a consequence of this sexual slavery, AIDS is beginning to hit the
Hymalaian region as well. They're expulsed from the brothels once they
become feverish and develop the external signs that show the're sick.
Hundreds of misfortuned girls go back home in a pityful state, to die
off in their origin villages at mountainous Nepal. They're seldom
accepted. Nepalese press, often taking the government's side, refers
to these girls as 'the rotten merchandise from India'. As bitterly
puts it Dura Chimire, president of ABC Nepal (a humanitarian
organization at Katmandu) "Nobody wants to speak about the issue, not
even girls' families. There are parents who sold their daughters, and
husbands who get rid of their young wives".

Depending on her beauty, a girl sells for US$185 to 550, a lower price
than that of a buffalo, and slightly higher than that of a video
player. A girl called Anu Tamang, who's now 21 y.o., is afraid of
coming back home. "I'm like a damaged egg, nobody wants me", says Anu,
a thin, pale brown eyed woman who stays in a hostel at Katmandu.
Delicate and with clear skin, the Tamang women have been traditionally
appreciated as concubines by nepalese courtiers. After the arrival of
democracy in 1951, they were moved to prostitution districts.

A few of them voluntarily choose prostitution to escape poverty in the
mountains. They don't know the risks of getting sick and being
confined in brothels as prisoners. But most of them are under age
ones, sold or cheated into 'skin trade'.

PARENTS SHAME:

India and Nepal share an open border, so that the exact figures of
this market are unknown. "They may well be hundreds, even thousands",
says Cauri Prodhan, president of the humanitarian organization 'Child
Workers' from the Nepal Concerned Center.

Geeta's story, who's now about 30, shows the hate and distrust these
girls must face when they come back. Being a victim of neumonia and
diarrhea as a consequence of AIDS, she was too sick to offer her
services to workers and 'ricksaw' drivers (man-pulled taxis), her
regular customers. She was fired from the brothel. She looked for the
man who had sold her as a prostitute at Katmandu, and she found him.
The pimp hit her and abandoned her half dead.

This happened back in 1991, when Nepal seemed to be immune to the AIDS
epidemy that suffered India. The Nepalese press told her story in a a
way that when she recovered enough as to come back to her home in
Melanchi, a group of Tamang stopped her from entering the village. Her
mother begged Geeta to go back to Katmandu, to avoid her parents the
shame of having a daughter who had catched the prostitutes' illness.
Geeta stubbornly refused leaving. Nowadays her health is
deteriorating, and her possibilities to defeat AIDS are unexisting. In
Nepal, where average yearly income is under US$ 185, expensive
medicines are absolutely out of reach for these youngsters.

Social workers declare that girls are younger each time. Two weeks
ago, two small girls from Bombay, aged 7 and 15, were handed over to
Katmandu police. They're victims of a growing superstition, according
to which those men who suffer from AIDS and other venereal diseases
could get cured if they go to bed with a virgin.

Maya was only eight when her cousin sold her. "They gave me hormone
shots so that my breasts swelled". One day, the madame entered her
room and started to make up her face. "A man came in and forced me to
have sexual intercourse with him", recalls the girl. "I fought, but
five women from the house blocked my arms and legs". Now she's 13
y.o., and already has the AIDS virus. Her anger comes out suddenly:
"Men? I'd like to kill them, cut their penises out"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

How can still exist such situations when we're approaching the 21st
century?

We just started out to create a world wide information and reporting
organization in the internet. I think this effort is worth the
troubles. Eventually we will devote our efforts to attack the problems
at their origin. If required, even economically and socially
boycotting worldwide those countries which governments allow or take
part in such offenses. Always pacifically, there are ways enough.

Just imagine if we could count in the future on a solidarity world
structure inside the internet, with simple channels to convey
informantion. When one of these cases occurred, we could take some
pressure, isolation or boycott measures towards the governments which
allow those situations. Perhaps those measures would be more effective
than those of occidental superpowers, which never implicate themselves
enough at the humanitarian level.

If you are interested in participating in the creation of this
communication and information network, just drop us some lines.

Please let us know any suggestions, contacts or similar initiatives
around the world. Any other comments are also welcome.

A mailing list of persons interested in solidarity issues will be
created as well. Those who'd like to be included, just send a message.

Regards.

Vicente Belmonte
bel...@ctv.es
Coordinator
GTII Solidarity Group.

http://www.ctv.es/USERS/belmon/solidari
President of Grupo de Trabajo Independiente en Internet

Vicente Belmonte bel...@ctv.es
Grupo de Trabajo Independiente en Internet
http://www.gtii.org

******************************************************************
Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 16:05:34 EST
To: t...@nepal.org
From: REF...@library.phila.gov
Subject: http://www.nepal.org/tnd.htm re: OWNERSHIP of buddhism

dear sir/madam:
i think it's rediculous to discuss the "ownership" of buddhism, for
it's merely an idea, albeit a shared idea. some would say it's a way of
life (lifestyle) as opposed to a religion. it belongs to whoever wants
to partake of its teachings.
now to argue whether Lord Buddha was born in Nepal or India is
ridiculous as well. so far, we know, on the basis of the inscription
on the Ashoka Pillar, that Lord Buddha was born roughly 2,600 years
ago in WHAT IS NOW NEPAL. there was no India then, as there was no
Nepal. the Indian subcontinent including the region now called Nepal
was only a conglomeration of many disparate kingdoms ruled by various
kings at various times. Lord Buddha was born in Kapilvastu, a kingdom
in its own right back then. Eventually Kapilvastu was incorporated into
modern Nepal, and hence we say Lord Buddha was born in Nepal. However, the
distinction has to be made. Lord Buddha was born in Kapilvastu (historically)
, and WHAT IS NOW NEPAL (technically).
i do understand and sympathise with the feelings of nepalese when
India tries to mislead the world in things pertaining to the Indian
Subcontinent. for example, in american colleges and universities, dipawali
is celebrated as an "indian festival". i think this is inaccurate. to say that
dipawali (or diwali or tihar or other variants) is an "indian festival" is
to logically imply that "all indians, whether muslim or sikh or hindu,
celebrate diwali NATIONALLY). dipawali is technically, a HINDU festival,
celebrated by HIndus all across the world who care to celebrate. another
way, India tends to mislead is by saying that Everest is to the north of
India. I read this somewhere. While this is as accurate as saying Canada
is to the north of Chile, I think the degree of accuracy is better enhanced
by saying that Canada is to the north of the USA. In another word, while
Everest is truly to the north of India, it is more accurate to say that
it is to the north of Nepal. The issue is not accuracy in absolute sense
but the degree of accuracy. I'm sure many misinformed tourists must have
gone to India to climb Everest, only to be disappointed that it is
further north than they'd been led to believe. I think India gains harder
foreign currencies this way at the expense of Nepal. This fact alone has
huge implications for Nepal's Tourist Industry. I'm sure many foreigners
might have ventured into India to visit the birthplace of Lord Buddha onlyu
to learn it is still further to the north in what is now Nepal. Of course,
there are other shrines of Buddha in modern India.

while of course, it's unfair to bash whole India for such misleading
info, i think nepalese should make the above distinctions i have outlined
whenever opportunity arises. have nepalese students in the USA and
elsewhere popularized the notion that "dipawali is not an indian festival,
but a hindu one", or that officially "nepal is the only hindu nation in the
world, while India is a secular state." it's a pity that nepal is so much
in India's shadow, that Nepal can only point out its unique difference
relative to India, and while doing so may be accused of "India-bashing."

unless such fallacies are corrected, they become increasingly hard to
dispel. in fact, they become so entrenched that later they'll acquire
their own reality.

hey, i root for the underdog. my two cents worth.

-bye.

******************************************************************
From: ckti...@erols.com
Date: Thu, 06 Feb 1997 10:49:38 -0500
To: NE...@cs.niu.edu
Subject: HimoNews Press Release

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Publisher, HimoNews

**********************************************************
Date: Thu, 6 Feb 1997 12:38:40 -0500 (EST)
From: Bik...@aol.com
To: ne...@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Why beat up pickpockets only?

Why beat up pickpockets only?
Ashutosh Tiwari

You are waiting for a bus anywhere in urban Nepal. Suddenly, a
group of men dash past your side, running after a scruffy-looking boy of
eighteen. "Chor! Pakait-chor!!" You hear the men yelling. You see the
alleged pickpocket dodging buses and jumping over the tea-shop benches, in a
desperate bid to get away -- but only to be caught near the newsstand.
Baying for blood, the mob throws itself on top of the boy, blindly
dispensing its own justice.
Thwack! The boy is beaten. Thud! The boy is kicked. More and more
beatings follow. Soon, a barrage of punches, kicks, slaps, taunts and
insults, and the alleged culprit is reduced to the stage of near-death. Is
the picked wallet found? That is never really clear.
Watching all this from a short distance, how do you, as an
educated and aware Nepali nagarik, react? You could try explaining how your
fellow-Nepalis -- the very people who bask in the made-for-tourism
self-image of being among the world's most peaceful people -- can turn so
violent at the mere hint of an alleged petty crime. Or, you could try
figuring out what makes ordinary Nepalis on the street suddenly take the law
into their own hands to be the prosecutor, the jury and the judge, and kick
and punch anyone who is yet to be proven guilty -- of any crime -- in the
formal court of law.
Or, could all this have happened because in Nepal the afterglow of
spontaneous mob-justice seems to raise everyone's social satisfaction? After
all, the members of that crowd can later declare with pride how they were
able to punish the alleged criminal sooner than the police, and certainly
faster than the judicial system.
And consider too, their chain of logic, as they sit drinking their
cups of tea, secure in the knowledge that they themselves need not fear any
legal retribution for beating up a suspected criminal in public: A chor is a
chor, they say, whether a mere pickpocket or anything more. Since "our
peaceful society" does not like criminals, and since the police and the
courts take too long a time to take actions and to deliver justice, what's
wrong with a few concerned citizens like ourselves speeding up the chain of
justice by kicking a few alleged criminals in bus-stops? The ends, after
all, do justify the means, don't they?
Understandable from their viewpoints perhaps. But such attitudes
raise larger questions. If, on the one hand, we ordinary Nepalis are so
easily outraged by petty crimes on the street -- to the extent that we are
willing to give up the idea of judicial supremacy (the bedrock principle of
parliamentary democracy), and beat up the alleged criminals ourselves --
then why do we, as members of this nation-state, are not similarly outraged
when, to cite a recent example, the mechanics of our judicial system gets
manipulated in ways such that Panchayati-goondas such as Bharat Gurung and
others are exonerated of their crimes with an untenable (meaning: on vague
grounds) legal amnesty?
Bharat Gurung may or may not deserve his amnesty, who can tell.
But if a criminal is a criminal until he legally completes his sentence or
earns a TENABLE amnesty in-between, then, is Bharat Gurung's being totally
free now, well ahead of the sentence-term that had been meted out six years
ago by a military-court, worthy of less of a public outrage than that a boy
of 18 allegedly picking a passenger's pocket?
If as a nation, we believe that we the citizens indeed have the
right to beat up criminals, then why only stop at pickpockets? Why not go
around beating Bharat Gurung and others, too? But the fact that we don't do
beat up other criminals means that we have a different standards for
public-punishment for different criminals. Some, like alleged pickpockets,
are to be wildly beaten up in public; some, with powerful connections, are
not to be touched at all. Either way, we can assure ourselves, we are making
a mockery of the idea of judicial supremacy. And the reason, I think, has
something to do with the public perception of rampant foul play within
Nepal's legal system.
Sure, those atop the legal system continue to talk about the need
to strengthen the idea of judicial supremacy all across the country. But
they fail to see that by beating up petty criminals, even six years after
the Jan Andolan, their fellow-citizens have been sending steady signals that
they still lack faith in the state's ability to provide security and
dispense speedy and fair justice.
Sadly, instead of examining those signals seriously enough to do
something about them, what does our legal system -- in a schizophrenic
avatar of His Majesty's Cabinet, Home Ministry, the Supreme Court and other
governmental bodies -- deliver? Totally arbitrary, totally untenable
verdicts that let go of people like Bharat Gurung, dismiss cases such as the
Dang-Bijauri murder-case (in which the Home Minister Khum Bdr. Khadka was
implicated), and so on and so forth.
When this sort of official decisions keep on going on record
without a credible, tenable legal explanation, then I suspect that our
version of democracy will continue to take the path of least resistance to
find social solutions for legal problems.
That is to say, by punching the powerless pickpocket, the people
around you in that bus-stop are perhaps purging themselves of all their
undefinable frustrations with the police, the courts, the lawyers, and of
the legal decisions of His Majesty's Government. Something to think about,
no? THE END (Originally published in The Kathmandu Post in a slightly
different version.)

******************************************************************
From: "Damber Gurung" <dg...@CLEMSON.EDU>
To: Ne...@cs.niu.edu
Date: Fri, 7 Feb 1997 09:14:47 +0000
Subject: Internship Opportunity in Nepal

Announcement to Deans, Directors, and Department Heads:
>>
>>Nepal Planning Commission and UNDP/Nepal are jointly launching a
>>Sustainable Community Development Program, also called Nepal's
>>Capacity 21 Program at some remote districts of Nepal. This year
>>the program will be concentrated at 15 villages of the Surkhet
>>District located at the Mid-Western region of Nepal. The program
>>has three entry points: environment, social and economic, and is
>>completely flexible and interactive so as to address unique
>>situations that exist in each village community.
>>
>>Nepal's CAP21 Program provides an excellent internship opportunity
>>for those college students who want to have a first hand experience
>>on Sustainable Development that is being taught at various
>>universities. What could be more exciting than to gain a practical
>>experience and have an opportunity to touch the life of a rural
>>community of Nepal!
>>
>>If you are interested and need further information, please write to
>>the following address:
>>
>>National Program Manager
>>Nepal's Capacity 21 Program
>>UNDP, PO Box 107
>>Pulchowk, Kathmandu, Nepal
>>
>>Lisa J. Mullins
>>Secretary Senior
>>University Office of International Programs
>>134 Burruss Hall
>>Blacksburg, VA 24061-0265
>>Phone: 540-231-5888
>>FAX: 540-231-5750
>>mul...@vt.edu
>>
>>Please visit our home page at:
>>http://www.vt.edu:10021/admin/international/index.html
>>
>Lester H. Myers, Head
>Agricultural & Applied Economics Dept.
>208 Hutcheson Hall
>Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University
>Blacksburg, VA 24061-0401
>PHONE: (540) 231-6301
>FAX: (540) 231-7417
>E-MAIL: mye...@mail.vt.edu

********************************************************
Date: Fri, 07 Feb 97 16:09:20 0700
From: Zaven H Ghazarian <ghaz...@ucs.orst.edu>
To: ne...@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Forestry

Does any one have contacts in Nepal that are involved in forestry?
I am in the process of looking for a field project to participate in
Any contacts would help greatly.

Thank you
Zaven Ghazarian

**********************************************************************
Date: Fri, 7 Feb 1997 14:08:42 +0100
To: NE...@cs.niu.edu
From: lo...@cornell.edu (Lazima Onta)
Subject: re: CSRD Discussion Topics for Feb and March

Centre for Social Research and Development (CSRD)
Martin Chautari/Nepal Studies Group Discussion Series

Mangal Bare is a forum for general discussion on various topics related to
Nepal. It meets on alternate Tuesdays. Nepal Studies Group's Research
Discussion Series consists of presentations of papers by researchers. The
series normally meets on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month.
Both forums meet at the premises of Martin Chautari (tel: 246065) in
Thapathali, Kathamandu. For more information, please contact Pratyoush Onta
at 228850.

Program (Time: 5.30pm)

11 Feb 1997, Tuesday (in Nepali) (Exception time 5pm)
Indreni Sanskritic Samaj

13 Feb 1997, Thursday
Gender Issues in Nepal: Where are we now?
Dr Bina Pradhan

18 Feb 1997, Tuesday
Integrating Environmental Concerns in Development: Where are we now?
Anil Chitrakar, IUCN-Nepal

27 Feb 1997, Thursday (in Nepali)
Global Village and Nepal: Economic Aspects
Dr Chaitanya Mishra, TU

4 March 1997, Tuesday
The Power of Giving: Philanthropy in Modern Nepal
Rita Thapa, TEWA

13 March 1997, Thursday
To be announced

18 March 1997, Tuesday
NO DISCUSSION DUE TO SASON CONFERENCE

27 March 1997, Thursday
To be announced

----------------
Note: What follows is a slightly edited version of what appeared in The
Kathmandu Post of 2 Feb 1996.

Invoking Revolution on Stage
by Pratyoush Onta

On January 14, 15, and 16, Indreni Sanskritic Samaj presented a
Desbhaktipurna Sanskritic Sanjh (Patriotic Cultural Evening) on the stage
of the Royal Nepal Academy in Kathmandu. The 2.5-hour program consisted of
three kinds of presentations: songs, dances and a play. I had the
opportunity to watch the program on the evening of the 16th and what
follows is a reportage of what I saw.
Making the recent border controversy in Mechi, the presence of
Indian soldiers in Kalapani and the ratification of the Mahakali treaty by
the Nepali parliamentarians the context in which the exigency of Indreni's
patriotic cultural program would be justified, the program itself began
with the comp=E8re Ahuti exhorting that if the des survives, you and I will
remain as Nepalis. Among the songs presented, "Mechi Mahakaliko Git" by
Khagendra Sangraula - the most prolific and powerful deployer of words
among those writing in the Nepali language today - was remarkable, although
not flawless. Badan Sharma provided the music to this song.
As in much of the contemporary immediate left-of-UML criticism of
politics in Nepal today, the patriotic terrian in this song was marked by
Balbhadra et al and its antithesis was marked by Nepali "Lendup Dorjees".
In the post-Mahakali scenario, the left that is immediate left-of-UML has
dubbed the latter as the most recent Nepali Lendup, equating its role in
the ratification of the Mahakali treaty to that of the leader of Sikkim,
Lendup Dorjee, who facilitated the amalgamation of an erstwhile independent
nation into the Republic of India in the mid-1970s. While the Nepali
Congress and RPP parliamentarians were already considered earlier avatars
of Nepali Lendups, the most recent Nepali Lendups, in Sangraula's eyes, are
the UML parliamentarians of the newly constructed Balkhu durbar, which he
has, on another occasion compared to a pigsty.
Also notable were the songs "Left Right" (original words by Mohan
Bikram Singh with music provided by Sambhuram Amatya), and "Sundar Chitij"
(Amar Giri's words with music by Amatya). Badan Sharma, Tekbahadur
Balampaki, Shailesh Pradhan and others provided their inspiring voice to
these songs, although some flaws were noted occasionally. Many of Indreni's
songs are now available in a cassette entitled Janata ra Desko Nimti.
Among the dances presented under the direction of Hari
Darshandhari, the welcome dance, Janata ra Desko Nimti (Sarad Paudel's
words and music) was a remarkable one with over 50-dancer participants.
Paudel's words and music in Asthako Bato and Ragat Pasina provided the
context for two other notable dances. The Bahudal Nach which provided
satirical commentary on post-Panchayat politics in Nepal, came as a moment
of relief amidst songs and dances invoking revolution. A cameo from the
now-in-preparation song-play by Sarad Paudel, Buhari (text published by
Atma Nirvhar Bikas Manch in Shrawan 2053 v.s.), reintroduced members of the
audience to the dukha (pain) experienced by many Nepali daughters-in-law
while failing to hint that the full-length play actually ends in a much
more inspring note with a group of women claiming that they will fight to
bring about the social order in which they and their lives will be
respected.
The best performance of the evening, in anybody's analysis, came at
the very end of the program in the form of the serious and comical play,
"Mechi Mahakali Express" written by Sarad Paudel (its text has been
published earlier this year in the literary journal, Vedana, No. 57).
Directed by Gopal Thapa, an abridged form of this play had been staged on
the streets of the Kathmandu Valley in December 1996. Charging all the
political parties of Nepal as lusting to form the goverment while Nepal
itself - represented by Nepal Aama in the play - was increasingly plundered
by Indian expansionists, Paudel shows that the real key to power in
Kathmandu lies in Delhi. The subservience of the Nepali leaders of all
political parties to the master in Delhi (a role fulfilled in a brilliant
manner by director Gopal Thapa himself) was well acted out in scene two of
the play amidst separated bouts of laughter while the inability to
comprehend Nepal Aama's pain on the part of a Nepali minister was
represented in his attempt to apply dettol antiseptic to her 'wounds' in
scene one.
In a national environment where political histrionics have taken
central stage it was refreshing to see so many singers, dancers, and actors
(and not to mention writers and musicians without whose work the stage show
would not have been possible) together critiquing the status quo. By
providing intelligent satires and criticisms of contemporary political
culture in Nepal through its performances to an audience, however limited
in number, it can be said that Indreni did a great job at delivering, in a
different genre, some of the writings emanating from the likes of Khagendra
Sangraula and Sarad Paudel. Writers from various factions of the
left-oriented cultural movement have repeatedly noted the need for
performative communication in this day of "satellite invasion of our
culture." Their cultural troops, however, have been largely absent from the
streets and on the stage. Hence Indreni needs to be congratulated for their
performances on the streets and on the stage, even as, as has been pointed
out by Mary Des Chene in Jana Ekata (27 Jan 1997), it has failed to
provide a clear vison of the post-revolution era. Indreni is also taking
the program to other parts of Nepal shortly.
One final point. The progressive cultural movement in Nepal is
fractured in ways that mirror the fractures among the leftist political
parties. Although Indreni has been around for a while, it is now led by
Ninu Chapagain, a former political activist who is close to that faction of
Mao-inspired Nepali leftists led by the likes of Lilamani Pokharel. Today
Chapagain is considered the theoretician par excellence of marxist
aesthetics in Nepal. Associated with him, in Indreni, are one group of
progressive writers who boycotted the last national convention of the
Pragatisil Lekhak Sangh (Progressive Writers' Association) as, in their
eyes, the group of writers led by Govinda Bhatta who are considered to be
close to the UML, monopolized the Sangh's central executive body, killing
the possibility of the Sangh being a common platform for all leftist
writers.
Last fall one faction among those who boycotted the Sangh came
together under the banner of Indreni. If one pays attention to what
Sangraula, an advisor to Indreni, said during its convention and reads the
recent numerous interviews and essays of Chapagain (see, for instance, his
interview in the journal, Indreni, No. 5 and his essay in the literary
magazine, Sathi, No. 12), then it becomes clear that, at least in the eyes
of its leadership, Indreni Sanskritic Samaj is now positioned, as far as
writing goes, between Pragatisil Lekhak Sangh on the right and the Maoist
writers associated with the literary journal, Kalam, on the left (one such
writer, Shreekanta Bhandari critiqued the formation of Indreni as a
repetition of what happened in the Sangh in Saptahik Janades, 8 October
1996). As far as cultural performance goes, Indreni defines itself against
the Rashtriya Janasanskritic Manch convened under the UML leader and
writer Modnath Prashit. In the eyes of Chapagain, this Manch and its
leadership, given their 'revisionist' interpretations of marxist
aesthetics, have lost their rights to call themselves 'progressive'. After
its own separation from Masal, Raktim Parivar led by Jeevan Sharma and
Indreni are probably close to sharing a common platform as far as the
progressive performative agenda is concerned.

***************************************************************
Date: Fri, 7 Feb 1997 12:59:03 -0600 (CST)
From: John Nessan Glor <mu...@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu>
To: The Nepal Digest <NE...@cs.niu.edu>
Subject: Dhunche, Rasuwa District

Greetings,

First of all I'd like to say that I enjoy receiving The Nepal Digest.
I'm interested in hearing from anyone from Rasuwa District in North-
Central Nepal or anyone working on development related projects within the
District. I lived and worked in Rasuwa, from 1993 to 1995, as a Peace
Corps Volunteer. My first year I lived in Jibjibe Village and the second
year in Dhunche, the district center of Rasuwa.

Thanks, I look forward to hearing from you.

John N. Glor
Department of Geography
Tillman Hall, 3rd Floor
Western Illinois University
Macomb, Illinois 61455
USA
(e-mail) JN-...@wiu.edu

**********************************************
Date: Sat, 8 Feb 1997 02:16:23 +0700 (GMT)
From: Shyam Sundar Shrestha <s...@ait.ac.th>
To: ne...@cs.niu.edu
Subject: About Buddha again.

Dear Morin,

I really respect your opinion, but their is something to be more clear on
"historical accuracies". If someone tries to twist the facts and truth
that is rediculous. We should always be agianst such things. We raised
the issue to correct the false statements and claims which have been
frequently encountered in many publications and media.
But it is ludicrous to talk about Buddha is "Indian" "Indian
Philosopher" "Buddha belongs to India" "etc". Buddha was born in
Lumbini, which is now in Nepal. Due to this reason if anyone can say
Budhha belongs to us that must be Nepali and Nepal. Not India.
Now lumbini is under the orld heritage site. Buddhism is for peace in
the world. We do not let to say any media Buddha is "Indian".
The thought of Buddha, Buddhism belongs to all who beleive on him as Karl
Marx belongs to Germany but Marxism belongs to all who believe on that.
We should apply the same rule on Buddha and Buddhism too.

I think,"care and birth" are two different things. To be an actual
mother, a woman has to give birth of someone. According to your argument why
we need to say Gautama Buddha is the son of Maya Devi? Maya Devi did not
take care of Buddha, because she passed away after his birth. why
do we say Rahul is Gautama's son?
Gautam Buddha is now a Lord because of his philosophy and knowledge.
He is for all, but his birth place is never in the teritory of India.
Therefore, there should be some indication of Nepal behind his name, and
his philosophy. That is our main argument. Being a Nepali, it is very
difficult to bear the statements and arguments that Buddha is "Indian
philosopher".
Therefore, we will like to request you and other people to correct such
mistakes in any publications and media. Be real. Search the truth from
the facts.

>Besides, was Kapilvastu really called "Nepal" when Gautam Siddhartha was
born?
>I know many "Nepalese" who still refer only to Kathmandu as "Nepal."
Does anyone still call Darjeeling "Nepal"?

Dear Morin, regarding your above two questions I also have the same
type of questions to you.
Was the Kapilbastu really called "India" in Gautama Siddhartha's time?
Is there any "india" at that time?
Where is Kapilbastu now? Is it now in India?
Answers are only No. Be practical!
some foregners says Nepal (Neples) is in Italy. I mean that such
peoples sayings do not emply on nation's sovereignty. The boundary of
country may change due to division, annexation and unification. In
our history as world's history we also had many (22 + 24) states in
ancient times.
Once Nepal was greater than what it is now (from Tista to Kangada
including Darjeeling), but now it is rediculous to claim that is of
Nepal.
Please try to understand our feelings and india's intention. Why they
say Buddha belongs to them? We should not fight for Buddha, who actually
wanted peace and harmony in the world. But we need to take care of facts
and thruth. Thank you for reading my opinion.

************************************************************
To: ne...@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Kathmandu University URL
Date: Fri, 7 Feb 97 14:02:58 EST

Cross-posted from SCN:
---------------------

I have improved a little bit in Kathmandu University Home page despite
mounting pressure to finish my dissertation.

There is a department in the University which offers undergraduate course in
Nepali and is geared towards foreigners with interests in Nepalese culture,
history, archeology and anthropology (those are the terms used in the
bulletin). You might want to check it out.

There are pointers for Kathmandu University in "Infoseek search", The Nepal
Home Page, AAMA consultant's Home Page and Sagun's Nepal Links Page too.
Otherwise, you can access the Home page by addressing to following URL.
Please see that there is no "*.html" extension in this address but only
"*.htm".

I wish to thank many people, more than 50, who took pain to point out the
deficiency in the Home page. I am working towards improving it.

http://meridian.uwaterloo.ca/~spokhare/kathu/kathuniv.htm
Shaligram

************************************************************
To: a10...@cs.niu.edu
From: neeta <c69...@showme.missouri.edu>
Subject: To the editor; attention, please - help wanted!!!

Could you please convey this request to all Nepal Digest readers. I am a
former KTM Post journalist doing a research paper on the KTM Post website
on the Internet here at the Missouri School of Journalism. I would
like to include in the research your readers'
suggestions on what they would want to see on the Post website and how to
make it better. I look forward to receiving your invaluable comments,
ideas etc on my e-mail by March 1. Please remember - the deadline for my
research paper is March 1. Thank you.

neeta maskey
c69...@showme.Missouri.edu

******************************************************************
Date: Sun, 9 Feb 1997 02:13:05 -0500 (EST)
From: JJo...@aol.com
To: NE...@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Ambassador Thapa's Speech and Mishra/Tuladhar Reaction

Dear Editor,

Hope you can include my following comments in your next issue of TND on
Ambassador Thapa's speech in Connecticut. Although my initial posting on his
Excellency's speech was for informational purposes only (with request from
Nepali net fellows), it has generated some interests and follow-up
discussions which I take positively.

First of all, I would like to request to Mr. Pramod Mishra and Amulya
Tuladhar and others who might come along in this discussion that arguments
carry weight and stays healthy as long as they remain focused to the point
and do not turn into personal attack. I would like you to know that I have
taken your comments with respect (especially on the ones you commented that
relates to my views). I say this here outright because some discussions on
various topics in the past in TND and also in SCN have meandered away from
the facts and have turned into personal bickering among writers.

First on Mr. Mishra's comments from the last issue of TND titled "Where is
the Dead Goat"? You have done a commendable job as a TND columnist by coming
up with such long story on a dead goat. Although it often runs away from the
point you tried to make because of its length (columnists do that usually), I
must admit it was entertaining to some extent. My refering to Panchayat as a
"dead goat" easily could have been a dead pig, horse, chicken, gadhaa and so
on. (Hope you don't come up with stories on each one of these animals).
Calling it a dead goat, I was simply implying that Panchayat is a dead issue
for now, however I am aware of it's possibility of resurgence. It will, if
we let it. Given what has gone on in Nepali political scene recently,
anything is possible.

I don't disagree with Mr. Mishra's claim of what Panchayat did to the country
and Nepalis. Yes, it did everything bad it could. 30 years was too long for
it to go on. But it did. Same as Ranas stayed in power for 104 years no
matter how terrible that time was for Nepal. But again, that is our history,
the fact. Other than learning some hard lessons from those terrible
experiences, my response to Amulya was what good does it do for us in the
present day context to keep talking and bashing about it. Talk about hard
lessons, are things any better with our hard fought democratic system today.
Panchayat era ghoos khori and chakri baaj was so bad we hated it, but has it
stopped now? These kinds of activities seems to be getting worst now than
ever before. Let me give you an example of the current MP's priviledge of
importing a particular vehicle and the cycle of corruption it has created in
Nepal today. Each MP is eligible to import a vehicle duty free. Reportedly,
the vehicle cost about 3.8 million (38 lakhs) Nepali Rupees. But with duty
free priviledge MPs get the vehicle for about 17 to 18 lakhs. Shortly after
that vehicle arrives in Kathmandu, it is sold to a third party with 7-10 lakh
ghoos. You know where that ghoos goes. So the third party gets the vehicle
for about 25-27 lakh, a net profit of 10-12 lakh even with the ghoos. But
the country lose somewhere between 17-18 lakh in revenue in each vehicle
imported by the MPs. Multiply that 17-18 lakh times 205 MPs. So my point is
that Nepal's present day problems are quite serious for us than to be talking
about what Panchayat did to us.

Yes, people from the Panchayat regime are in power now whether one likes it
or not (I don't). But they exercised their democratic rights and won the
elections. In a true democracy, we ought to accept those whom people elected
regardless of the differences. Mishraji seems to be quite disappointed with
the voters and their "ignorant wish" but in a country where more than 70% of
its people are still illiterate I am not sure how much meaning elections make
to many in the villages.

Ambassador Thapa's speech wasn't even about Panchayat or ram raajya or
anything in that direction. He was requested to talk about southasian
perspective and its situation in global economical context and that was the
focus of his talk. He gave a good speech. I didn't feel he misrepresented
Nepal as Amulya seems to think. People in attendace felt good that they came.
The goal of that event was met.

No Mishraji, I did not intend to dismiss Amulya's response to my initial
posting on Ambassador Thapa's speech. The difference I have with Amulya is
that I beleive these kind of activities generate awareness about Nepal. It
was education. There was nothing wrong to invite the Ambassador to speak on a
specific topic in which he is knowledgable. I have personally been to area
schools and presented slides from Nepal and let students know about our
culture and heritage. I am sure many students around the States and other
parts of the world engage in international fairs and represent Nepal in the
best possible way they can. There is nothing wrong with that. It seems to
me that Amulya's and your disagreement with the Ambassador is not so much
with what he said at UConn but with the fact that he comes from the Panchayat
time (a seperate issue).

And to Amulyaji, you pointed out your dissatisfaction of how the Panchayat
regressive policy is still alive and throbbing in - yes, you are right. But
what is it that can be done? Yes, the king still has a lot of power, more
than one thinks. Do you think he is going to elope just like that? The 10%
RPP in the parliament is more powerful than the two other major parties. But
why do you think that is possible for them to be more powerful? Don't you
think it is due to the "loove and laalach" of the multi-party, congress as
well as UML leaders to cling on to their positions? Yes, we all know
Panchayat was bad and they were driven away, but what we have now "the
democracy" isn't any better if it continues the way it is going. For that
reason, I am saying lets not dwell on the past too much when the current
situation is bad enough. The corruption that you talk so much of Panches
didn't disappear in Nepal with the rise of democracy. Its been six years and
running fast and strong.

Regarding your disagreement with me on Hinduism reference and what bad it has
done to others, I am not a religious person although I believe in God. So I
better not get into this discussion too deep. The only thing I have to say is
that I like the way people treat each other in Nepal regardless of their
different religion. I have never seen any major ethnic, religious or
communal fights in Nepal as we hear of the horror stories in neighboring
India.

Thank you both for engaging in the discussion.

Dr. J. Joshee
Connecticut

*************************************************************
Date: Sun, 09 Feb 1997 14:58:49 -0800
From: "Netscape user at SLS.WAU" <raj.bishnu%m...@student.wau.nl>
Subject: (no subject)
To: ne...@cs.niu.edu

Dear Sir/Madam

I am very interested to get the regular information and participate in
your programme. Could you please explain how I can do it.
Thanks

*******************************************************************
To: ne...@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Kathmandu where two religions meet
Date: Sun, 9 Feb 97 22:13:53 EST

Cross-posted from SCN:
---------------------

Like many religions in the world, Hinduism and Buddhism appears
like two separate entity in the world but not so in Kathmandu. In Shri
Lanka there is conflict between these two religious groups but when someone
looks at the cultural ties between these two religions in Kathmandu, it
always appears as inseparable, even though we talk about Hinduism
and Buddhism as separate entities. Buddhism was emanated from Hindhuism,
hence it is simple and modern form of religion. Interesting thing is
how it gets complicated in Kathmandu is still a open question for
discussion. If somebody asks me if I am a Hindhu the answere would be
yes. If somebody ask me if I am a Buddhist, the answere would be still
yes. The reason behind this is because we Kathmandu people go to both
Hindhu and Buddhist temples.

Let us take an example of Swayambunath temple (monkey temple),
there are two important shrines "Ajima" and the Bhodhisatwa (Swoyambhu)
sitting next to each other. Swoyambhu is a pure buddhist shrine, there is
no doubt about it. What about "Ajima"? In newari meaning Blissful
mother. To the Hindhus she is worshiped as "Bhagabati" or
goddess"Kali". If you look at the prist who can be seen in front of
the temple in crossleg position performing the puja (worship) is a
Gavaju (newari bhuddhist prist) or Sakya. In one hand he has a replica
of a "Bajra mala" (one kind of thunder bolt which is displayed in
gigantic form to the east in front of the Swayambhu temple). In
another hand he has a bell which he tinkles rhythmatically with the
chanting of the holy bhuddhist mantra.

The "Bajra mala" (one kind of very destructable thunderbolt)
according to the newari legend was captured by one famous newari tantrician
"Jamana" Gavaju (newari bhuddist prist). He tied it by his tantric
power and kept it in captivity in front of the Swayambhu temple to be used
as a tantric power of destruction in its controled form to drive away
evil spirits and demonds. This Bajra Mala also is used by Tibetan Monks
and plays an important part in religious performances. In newari
language "Mala" is Thunderbolt or lightning and the newari tantrician
in those days have classified into different kinds in accordence with
the appearence of the flash or very large spark that marks a typical
type of destruction when it strikes.

The other kinds of lightnings still in its uncontrolable form and
according to the legend marks the trail of destruction in the present
day world are "Pa Mala" (Pa in newari meaning axe) which splits like an
axe when it strikes; "Gonga mala" (Gonga meaning rooster in Newari)
which appears like a rooster but strikes like a trail of chicken
scraches; "Mi Mala" (Mi meaning Fire) which destroys like a burning flame
of fire. It is interesting to note about the consiousness of the people
with regard to lightning hazard in the old days of Kathmandu.

Since the Gavaju (newari buddhist prist) was unable to capture all
the other kinds of lightning except "Bajra", they were able to find
different tantric method as a solution to save at least the important
temples and places. You can see these tantric method applied in
important temples by displaying erotic carvings in public. It is a tantric
belief that the goddess of lightning whichever form it may be is a virgin
and would not visit such places.

The Buddhist prist in Hindhu temple, and the cultural mixture of
Hinduism and Buddhism in a very complicated form in Kathmandu can be taken
as an example of harmony between the religions. Let us look at the
important Hindhu festival Dasain and Tihar. Different cultural groups
even the buddhist celebrate in their own way. The Newars "New
Year " during Tihar is marked by special feast and by constructing bhudhist
Tantric Mandala which is a must for the ceromony. Then the body and the
soul is blessed with sagun consisting of fried egg and fish with a small
bowlful of "Musagu ela" (typical newari Raksi or liquor) and variety of
dishes. The most interesting thing is "Sukunda" (a typical newari oil
lamp with image of Ganesh, the hindu god) is a must in any kind of
festival whether Buddhist or Hindhu. Ganesh has two wives one is "Luck"
and another is "Wisdom" Everybody wants to be blessed by Ganesh in
order to achieve success in life by obtaining Luck and wisdom. Every
corner streets of old Newari towns are marked by small or big temples
of Ganesh and his faithful shrew. Ganesh likes "Laddoo" (sweet ball)
and Tuesday is the special day to visit Ganesh temple with sweet
balls. In newari society in Kathmandu every family in the house
sends special puja every day to the nearest Ganesh temple.

Such is the complexity of religion in Kathmandu.

Gopal Dongol

**********************************************
Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 10:27:26 -0500 (EST)
From: Bik...@aol.com
To: ne...@cs.niu.edu
Subject: On Development of Ethics

On development ethics
By Ashutosh Tiwari

Doing development or bikas garne has become a professional
enterprise in Nepal, complete with such formalities as proposals, projects,
seminars, a fluency in English language, audits and so forth. At the same
time, with increasingly strident NGO-bashing, one gets the sense that in the
course of doing development, perhaps ethics has somehow been sidelined to
the fuzzy domain of personal choice. One result is that today most Nepali
NGOs are more likely to have clearer guidelines on how to write proposals
for a particular donor than on how to conduct themselves ethically -- on or
off the field.

This distancing of development from ethics is strange, considering
that bikas (regardless of how one defines it) is necessarily concerned with
this variation on the Socratic question: How should a community live? And
though answers to that question are as many as there are NGOs in Nepal, it
is safe to conclude that no development worker would recommend that the
community live at the expense of ethics.

In principle, then, there is this certainty development cannot
ignore ethics, even when, in practice, it is not always clear what sort of
ethics needs to be paid attention to. Whatever it is, some may call it
'development ethics', while others may call it 'everyday ethics'.

But suppose, as the term gains currency in Nepal, we call it
'development ethics'. Now what does that mean? Are we saying that there are
specific ethics-related concerns that are to be found exclusively in the
domain of development and nowhere else? Or is 'development ethics' simply
highfalutin NGO-speak for 'everyday ethics' that a development worker is
supposed to abide by anyway?

I do not know much to fully answer those questions. But I do know
that such questions need to be asked for two reasons. First, they stop us
from casually flinging a catchy new phrase such as 'development ethics' by
making us think through it with some rigor. Second, they help us lay down a
conceptually clearer bridge between the 'first person plural' domain of
development as one does in Nepal on behalf of 'third person plural' and the
'first person singular' sense of ethics that one holds as a development
worker or consultant.

That a conceptually clearer bridge needs to exist between ethics
and development is certain. What is not certain is how and in what ways can
that bridge enrich and contrast the two. That is why, any discussion of
development ethics must start from acknowledging this particular
uncertainty, and then move on to discuss, however tentatively, real-life
ethical dilemmas, choices and failures. Else, by just flinging the phrase
'development ethics', the danger is that the content of ensuing discussions
might be lost in the muddle of vague abstractions, imperative do's and
don'ts and broad moralizing -- all of which would be of little help to
development workers confronting stark ethical dilemmas in their day-to-day
work.

Still, the question remains: Are there specific ethics-related
concerns that are exclusive to the domain of development? There must be.
But, in the context of Nepal, I contend that except for a few anecdotal
examples here and there, we simply do not know development-related ethical
concerns well enough to have a fruitful discussion on them.

That does not mean that development ethics is not important. But
simply that to make it matter what we need are details from offices, voices
from fields, and contexts from development-proposals -- all of which are
likely to illuminate the real-life tussles among competing interests that
that exist in different NGOs.

But one reason why such details are rarely publicly available in
Nepal is that the professional machinery of development here, as it stands
in its donor-NGO-target group triangle, is not conducive to talking about
ethics. How so? Because, if the donors' motto has generally been 'disburse
or die', then the development workers' career mantra has generally been
'justify and do the projects'. And it is through this day-to-day,
career-based whirl of development work that few professionals, no matter how
sincere they might otherwise be, lose the sense of both the priority for and
the need to come to terms with the ethical issues that they face while doing
development.

That, however, should not come as a surprise. Taking
development-ethics seriously, after all, does require one to depart from the
dominant 'project-at-any-cost thinking that pervades most development
institutions. Tellingly, those requirements entail: a) Admitting development
failures and mistakes of one's institution; b) engaging in an impartial
third-party assessment of one's works and the works of one's institution; c)
expressing ambiguities, self-doubts, and even contradictions that come up
while doing development; and, d) taking the risk to appear vulnerable. All
of those requirements are very hard to fulfill, and admittedly, as
development institutions stand in Nepal and elsewhere, are not among the
smartest career moves for many development professionals.

Before going further, let me clarify that I am not saying that to
advance careers, development professionals have to shun talking about ethics
publicly. Nor am I saying that development professionals do not think
seriously enough about ethical dilemmas. They surely do. But that as long as
those who lead Nepal's development institutions do not take real-life
ethical dilemmas, choices and failures seriously -- seriously enough to make
such concerns a priority in all of their works, then merely talking about
'development ethics' on vague, abstract levels would get us nowhere, and
'development ethics' would just be another jargon in the lexicon of
development.

So what are we left with? On the one hand, no one expects
development workers to be saints. But on the other hand, if ethics is to
really matter (and not just lip-served) in the development profession, then
it's not too much to expect institutions (donors, NGOs and others) to set
aside some time and resources to examine the larger ethical concerns related
to their work. That means, as a starting step, not only would the leaders of
those institutions devise and enforce collectively agreed-upon 'codes of
conduct' for all within their institutions to follow, but also encourage and
reward their workers to openly share ethical concerns, dilemmas, problems
and choices.

The more the institutions encourage discussions on ethical
concerns and share them with other institutions, then over time, the
development profession as a whole can benefit from a richer reservoir of
real-life experiences, examples, stories and failures as they pertain to
ethics in development. Such a reservoir may not contain answers to all our
development-related ethical dilemmas. But at the very least, it would help
us come up with clearer concepts on 'development ethics' as it really
pertains to doing Nepal ko bikas. (Originally published in: Face to Face --
a Kathmandu-based, independent magazine for development -- No 9. December
1996)

**********************************************************************
Date: Fri, 07 Feb 1997 21:03:44 PST
To: info...@nepal.org
From: Karen Nichol <jni...@direct.ca>
Subject: volunteer opportunities in Nepal/India

Greetings from Canada. My name is Mike Jessee and I am planning on
travelling to India, Nepal and Tibet this spring/summer (1997). I am very
interested in spending some time in one of the Tibetan Refugee Camps, either
in Nepal or India. I have been to both countries before (in 1993), and
enjoyed my experience immensely. I understand that there is a large Tibetan
population in Dharamsala, as well as Ladakh. I was also informed that their
are a couple of Tibetan villages in Pokhara, Nepal (Tashiling and
Tashipakhel). I am wondering where volunteer services are needed the most,
and the best time of year to volunteer. I am a certified teacher in
Vamcouver, B.C., Canada, who has been teaching for two years. My desire is
to learn more about the Tibetan people and their culture, as well as
contribute in some way to support their cause.
I plan on leaving Canada at the end of April, and have begun to plan
my trip. Your feedback regarding this would be appreciated a great deal.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely, Mike Jessee.

*****************************************************
Date: Fri, 07 Feb 1997 17:27:13 PST
To: info...@nepal.org
From: bobbie jo egan <n934...@henson.cc.wwu.edu>
Subject: Nepal Volunteer Opportunites

Hello, hello. My name is Brian Sokol and I am very interested in Nepali
issues. I would like to find out any information you have on volunteer
opportunites in Nepal. I am a student at Western Washington University
pursuing a degree in International Environmental Communications. My
greatest areas of expertise and experience are writing, photography and
education- all in concerning with enviornment and culture. If there are
any possibilites in these arenas I would be doubly interested, but
please send me whatever info is available.

My address is:
2902 Connelly Ave.
Bellingham, WA
98225
USA

email: n954...@cc.wwu.edu
phone: 360-647-5661

Thank You!

P.S. Disregard any address attached to this message, I'm still a bit
foggy as to how this all works.

(Message inbox:770)
-- using template mhl.format --
Date: Sat, 15 Feb 1997 12:03:44 PST
To: info...@nepal.org

From: Curtis Balkwill <lordc...@geocities.com>
Subject: Email Address

From lordc...@geocities.com Sat Feb 15 13: 00 CST 1997
Return-Path: <lordc...@geocities.com>
X-Authentication-Warning: mail1.geocities.com: Host pc25.c212.gmcc.ab.ca [198.1
***61.60.34] didn't use HELO protocol
Reply-To: lordc...@geocities.com
Organization: Grant MacEwan Community College
X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.0 (Win16; I)
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Length: 395

Hi,
I am a Nepali Student studying in Canada and I want to request you
that my passport is going to expire pretty soon. I need to renew it. I
want to ask some information about it on Nepalese Embassy in United
State of America. If you have email Address of Nepalese Embassy, please
email me as soon as possible. I would be appreciate for it.

Thank You

Kumar Sharma
Sha...@ren.gmcc.ab.ca

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