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The Nepal Digest Monday 29 Aug 94: Bhadra 26 2051 BkSm Volume 30 Issue 6
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**********************************************************************
Date: 18 Aug 94 16:30:54 EDT
From: Rajendra.P.Shrestha@Dartmouth.EDU (Rajendra P. Shrestha)
Subject: News 8/15-17
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
SOURCE: DPA, UPI, Reuters
HEADLINE: Koirala emerges more powerful after Nepal party struggle
DATELINE: Kathmandu, August 15
In a major political coup Monday, Nepal Prime Minister Girija
Prasad Koirala gained a tight hold on the ruling Nepali Congress Party
before elections Nov. 13 by pressuring the party president to oust his
critics and replace them with loyalists.
Party President Krishna Prashad Bhattarai reconstituted the
27-member central working committee Monday morning and formed a
smaller 21-member committee with Koirala supporters. Those who were
ditched included such critics of the prime minister as Bharat Shumsher
and Kuber Sharma. Their departure had long been sought by Koirala
supporters. Koirala welcomed the move saying "it will lead to party
unity and consolidation."
This latest move in the party comes amid reports that
Koirala's faction was about to register a new party with the election
commission for the coming snap polls. Reports also said Koirala is
pressuring Bhattarai to reconstitute the central parliamentary board,
which chooses candidates for the elections and where Koirala does not
have a majority.
The party has been embroiled in a dispute since February, with
most of those ousted Monday demanding the expulsion of Koirala from
the party. Koirala is charged with engineering the defeat of Bhattarai
in parliamentary byelections in February to prevent the president from
assuming premiership.
Most analysts expect the new working committee to change an
earlier decision of the committee that bars Koirala, Bhattarai and
General Secretary Mahendra Narayan Nidhi from running for election,
thereby removing a hurdle that prevents Koirala from becoming premier
after Nov. 13.
Congress leaders, plagued by leadership rivalries, said they
feared the communist-led opposition would gain ground unless the party
healed its divisions. But the latest reshuffle of the CWC came amid
press reports of renewed differences between Bhattarai and
Koirala. Party workers unattached to either of the two main factions
said the bid to bridge differences could prove futile because Congress
did not appear committed to running a united campaign ahead of the
autumn polls.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Electoral Constituency Delineation
The Constituency Delimitation Commission has recently delineated
electoral constituencies for the upcoming general elections. Based on the
1991 census, the Commission added electoral constituencies in 9 districts
and reduced them in 10 districts. Each constituency will now have
111,000 people, give or take a difference not exceeding 6000. The
commission has also sought suggestions and recommendations from
sixteen districts for on-the-spot delineations, and is scheduled to
submit a final report August 16.
List of Districts with Added Constituencies
Districts Previous Present Population
--------------------------------------------------------------
Kathmandu 5 7 675,341
Morang 6 7 674,823
Sunsari 4 5 463,481
Dang 3 4 354,413
Chitwan 3 4 354,488
Kailali 3 4 417,891
Surkhet 2 3 225,768
Kanchanpur 2 3 257,906
Ilam 2 3 229,214
List of Districts with Reduced Constituencies
Districts Previous Present Population
-----------------------------------------------------------
Mahottari 5 4 440,146
Syangja 4 3 324,329
Kabhre 4 3 293,526
Bhojpur 3 2 198,484
Khotang 3 2 215,965
Achham 3 2 198,188
Baitadi 3 2 200,716
Darchula 2 1 101,683
Tehrathum 2 1 102,970
Myagdi 2 1 100,552
Source: The Independent, August 10th
-------------------------------------------------------------
SOURCE: DPA, UPI, Xinhua
HEADLINE: Second strike in a week paralyzes Nepal
DATELINE: Kathmandu, August 17
Life in Kathmandu was severely disrupted by a second strike in
a week. This general strike, called by the far-left group United
People's Front (Bhattarai) came just three days after a strike called
by a coalition of six other left groups. The Left are demanding an
all-party government to oversee election to be held in Nov. 13.
There were few public or private transport in the roads of
Kathmandu, although a few public buses were running with armed
guards. Schools and colleges were closed. People coming from the
airport were escorted in buses by a strong contingent of police who
were patrolling streets in large numbers.
The UPF claimed that more than 1,100 of its activists were
arrested all over the country. Local newspapers confirmed 22 arrests
in Kathmandu and 32 in Pokhara. A Home Ministry spokesman said only
450 had been arrested in total. The UPF also claimed that hundreds of
its supporters were detained in Tuesday as they were planning to hold
torch light rallies. It said that several of its leaders, including
Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai, have gone "underground" to avoid arrest. The
Home ministry spokesman claimed that the strike had had minimal impact
outside Kathmandu.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SOURCE: Xinhua
HEADLINE: India apologizes to Nepal
DATELINE: Kathmandu, August 17
India officially apologized to Nepal for recent police
incident in Nepalganj, reports the "Kathmandu Post". Badrinath Khanal,
Foreign Ministry spokesman, said that "the Nepali government had
lodged official complaint to the Indian embassy immediately after the
incident" and that "they said they deeply regretted the incidence."
**************************************************************
Date: Thu, 18 Aug 1994 23:26:26 -0700 (PDT)
From: BKHANAL@GONZAGA.EDU
Subject: Re: The Nepal Digest - Aug 18, 1994 (5 Bhadra 2051 BkSm)
To: NEPAL@mp.cs.niu.edu
This letter is a letter in response to the letter written by
Madhav Bhatta.
Websters Dictionary defines "Alliance" as "A close association for
a common objective." Either I am stupid or asking for rest of the Nepali
community not to vote while calling your self part of the "Alliance" is
rather inconsistent and as a matter of fact is plain ignorant. I do not
admit that I have been in Nepal for the past few years but Iwas there
during the andolan and I was out on the streets when most of my
"colleagues" were watching Ramayan. It outraged me to hear some one ask
probably the most educated part of the Nepalese community not to vote.
I do agree that things that have happened in Nepal probably donot
follow the "Eutopian" deram of development most of the people had when
"democracy" dawned over the Panchayat system. We have gone through a lot
of changes and most of it has not been very plesant but it disgusts me to
hear a suggestion not to vote from probably the most educated and
energetic part of Nepalese community. I agree that the new system has its
fault but we must understand there is no political party that is perfect
in the whole world. Look at the United States. It is thought of as the
epitome of democracy. When we are inside the country, we can see the flaws
of the democracy which the rest of the world thinks as the best and it is
probably still the best or one of the best. I urge all the Nepali
community to not to give up because there are harder times to come in the
long road of development for Nepal. I think that the Nepali community in
USA is probably one of the most hopeful things that can be offered to
Nepal and I hope that we don't give up so easily.............
Thank you very much.
Any replies are welcomed....
Please reply at bkhanal@gonzaga.edu
My name is Bhushan Khanal
Address: Po. Box 631 Whitworth College
Spokane WA. 99251
(509) 468-9973
******************************************************************
Date: Fri, 19 Aug 1994 11:32:42 -0400 (EDT)
From: SURAJ BASNET <sbasnet@welchlink.welch.jhu.edu>
Subject: Addresses
To: Nepal Digest <NEPAL@cs.niu.edu>
Dear Friends,
I am looking for names and addresses of non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) in Nepal. I would be most grateful if you can forward the list of
any organizations you know, with their addresses, a contact person, and a
brief description of the institution's activities.
Although this collection is a venture for personal use, I will be happy to
share with anybody who needs them.
Thank you.
Suraj Basnet
Baltimore [The city that reads]
*******************************************************************
Date: Fri, 19 Aug 1994 08:43:16 -0700 (PDT)
From: BKHANAL@GONZAGA.EDU
Subject: Re: The Nepal Digest - Aug 18, 1994 (5 Bhadra 2051 BkSm)
To: NEPAL@mp.cs.niu.edu
I am sorry but i might have made a mistake on the author of the article
that I am writing about. I thouht that it was written by Madhav Bhatta on
the topic of " Voting" but I think it was written by Dil Basnyet or some
one else. Could youmake the necessary correction./ Thanks
Bhushan Khanal...
******************************************************************
Date: 20 Aug 94 17:35:31 EDT
From: Rajendra.P.Shrestha@Dartmouth.EDU (Rajendra P. Shrestha)
Subject: News8/18-19
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
SOURCE: Reuters
HEADLINE: LEFT-WING ACTIVISTS ARRESTED IN NEPALI PROTEST
DATELINE: KATHMANDU, Aug 19
BODY:
Nepali police arrested hundreds of demonstrators including a top
opposition leader on Friday during a protest calling for the
government to quit, witnesses said.
The president of the main opposition United Marxist Leninist (UML)
party, Mana Mohan Adhikary, and dozens of his party colleagues were
detained soon after the protest began.
Police later said all the demonstrators, including Adhikary, had
been released but a UML spokesman said a dozen activists remained in
custody.
Witnesses said more than two dozen protesters were taken to
hospital with injuries and the UML spokesman said three activists were
seriously injured in a police baton charge.
The protest was the latest in a series by the opposition which is
demanding that Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala make way for a
national government to supervise elections set for November -- 18
months ahead of schedule.
They allege that free and fair elections are impossible under
Koirala, who called early polls after losing a key vote in parliament
because 36 members of his own Nepali Congress party boycotted it.
King Birendra asked Koirala to continue in office till the
elections.
Home Ministry officials said opposition leaders and supporters were
arrested because they were blocking traffic and had damaged at least a
dozen government vehicles with stones.
The UML spokesman accused plainclothes police of throwing stones.
The opposition planned to stage protests in front of government
offices in all 75 districts in Nepal. Outside Kathmandu valley,
protests appeared to be peaceful except for some arrests in the
western districts of Banke and Bardiya, government officials said.
Mass meetings and demonstrations were set for next Tuesday in the
capital and outlying districts.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
SOURCE: DPA
HEADLINE: Violence erupts during communist sit-in at Nepal government
office
DATELINE: Kathmandu, Aug 19
BODY:
Violence erupted in the Nepalese capital on Friday two hours after
supporters of the country's six communist groups started a joint
sit-in at the offices of the government's central secretariat in
Singha Durbar.
The action was part of an ongoing campaign, now in its third
phase, by leftwing organisations to remove Prime Minister Girija
Prasad Koirala. They demand institution of an all-party government to
supervise the coming November 13 general elections.
Trouble began soon after police started beating the protestors
with canes and drove them to about 300 metres away from the offices.
The protestors dispersed, but then began throwing stones at the
police. A government vehicle was set alight, and several others were
smashed.
Stones were also hurled at the government-owned Royal Nepal
Airlines and Nepal telecommunications buildings.
Police claimed that their actions were meant to clear the roads
and pavements of the protestors, to facilitate the movement of persons
and vehicles heading for the government offices. dpa vm ds
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SOURCE: DPA
HEADLINE: Communist leader shot dead in southern Nepal
DATELINE: Kathmandu, Aug 19
BODY:
A senior leader of the United Peoples Front (Dr. Bhattarai Group)
was shot dead in his village in southern Nepal Thursday evening, the
party said in Kathmandu Friday.
The victim has been identified as Ram Brikshya Yadav and was shot
dead at Barjamiya in Dhanusha district, about 150 kilometres southeast
of the Nepalese capital.
Ram Brikshya Yadav was a member of the central committee of the
party which has been at the forefront of raising nationalist slogans,
specially after the incursion into Nepal of Indian police personnel on
several occasions
Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai told newspapers Friday that the killing was
carried out by an Indian national, saying it was "purely and solely
politically-motivated".
The United Peoples Front, both the Bhattarai and Baidya Groups,
have a reputation for more extremist communist views than the stronger
United Marxist-Leninists, the largest communist grouping in Nepal.
*******************************************************
Date: Sun, 21 Aug 1994 14:38 EST
From: ATULADHAR@vax.clarku.edu
Subject: Nepal Forest Act 1993/94: Problems with Community Forestry
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Nepal Forestry Act 1993/94: Problems with Community Forestry
============================================================
The World Resources Institute (WRI) and LEADERS, Nepal have come out with a
critical study of the legal problems with community forestry regulations in
the present legal and policy framework.
Specifically, the document, "Handing it over: Analysis of the legal and policy
framework of community forestry in Nepal" points out to inconsistency betwen
letter and spirit of Nepal's different legal and policy documents on Nepal's
community foretry. These include the Nepal Constitution 1990, the
Decentralization ACt 1982/83, the Distric and Village Development Committee
Acts of 1992. All of these examined with reference to the proposed Forest Act
1993, still not formal law.
The Forestry ACt 1993 is a post-democracy law that is supposed to capture the
spirit of democracy, pluralism and the valorizing of the public over the
governement in development decision making. The preamble makes a committment
to "hand over forests to the communities". The government has done preciousl
little since such promises hve been made in serious legal documents since
1977/78. Over 60% of the national forest land is considered "potential" lands
that can be handed over to the community, hardly 2% had been handed over till
1991. Though the news are full of bits and pieces of forest patches handed
over to the locall community, the scale does not seem to add to much. What are
the reasons for this. Once, all the probleme could be explained away as due to
the Panche and there are still old bogeymen, like the foresters, who are the
perennial reactioneries resisting development and empowerment. Kirk Talbott of
WRI and Shantam Khadka of Leaders Nepal try to find some faults with
inconssistencies in the legal frameworks.
One of the primary inconsistency is betweeen the nepal Constitution spelling
out that the soveriegn rights of Nepal rest with the Nepali people, the
proposed Forest Act 1993 seems to go directly against this spirit and letter
by vesting residual rights of forests in the institutions fo the state. The
Act still empowers the District Forest Officer, DFO, not the community, to
delay and derecognize the functioning of the legal user community that is
supposed to manage the forest that are handed over. Whether it is due to
genuine faults of the user committee or due to natural faults such as draughts
and fires, the community forests are not "sustainable and ecologically
managed" the DFo can take back the land and worst there is no provision for
challenging the technical decision of the forester. These so-called technical
decisions are more often political and unscrupulous decison to to benefit the
DFO personally or or the powers of the state or local elite with he is aligned
and such technical decisions are not spelt to be challenged by foresters
outside the government.
The second category of legal inconsistency is between the Decentralisatin Acts
and the District and Village Development Committee Act 1992 which gives
unchallengeable rights to the village to make decisions on resource
allocations at the village and district levels by politcally elected
representiaves. It has been proven during the pancha time that linking forest
user committees to political institutions at the village just does not work.
Often people active at such levels are people with surplus time, money,
political social resources who do not depend on Forests so they just sit on
the committee with a view to further their ends rather than the interests of
the forest users who are a community unit smaller than the village deeloment
committe level.
Whne the specific legal righrs of users committees are not defined, there are
all sorts of rooms for conflicts as is already happening in many parts opf
Nepal. In Dhanusha, I heard the user committee complaining that they had no
legal rights to persecute neighbouring villagers who were stealing their
forest products. In Terai where there has been high mobility of Nepalese whose
rightrs shall we uphold, the rights of the Tharus who have been historically
living in the forests and are the real user groups or the the hill recent
migrants of Brahmin-Chettri groups who have displaced them. Again do we uphold
the rights of landed farmers who use the forests or itinerant landless
miggrant Nepalese who all need farmers. By promoting community, are we not
discouragningh spontaneous cooperatives?
The Forest ACt 1993 purports to reach the poorest of the poor in partipatory
forestry management but alll managment must be sanctioned by a written
conttract called the "operational plan". In a country where 64% are literate,
this provisition brings power squarely in the hands of the literate and
powerful of the rural society, the rural elite , mostly the brahmins who have
both the tradition of Sanskrit literacy and the social sanction to read and
explain, whichbrings us back to Dor Bahadur Bista's diagnosis of the
impediment to modernization in nepal.
While the analysis is interesting and timely, it points out to the tremendous
push and pulls in politics that is going on in the design of the Forest ACt
1993. The Forest ACt 1993 had been anticipated ever since 1989 when the Master
Plan for the Forestry Sector proposed to spen $ 1.7 billion over 21 years and
the singly most expenditure was community forestry at 46.6%. Designed i the
dying days of Panchayat the Master Plan was in line with Tropical Forestry
Action Plan proposed by FAo to tap environmental dollars that was anticipated
with the new found importance of forests as carbon sinks in the global climate
change scare that said the oceans would rise with the melting of icecaps with
icreased atmospheric temperatures. The new Government wanted to dump the
master plan due to its Panchayat legacies but stayed quied after cosmetid
exorcising of the word Panchayat from the document and endorsing as offical
forest policy to attract foreign aid. The promised moeny has not been
forthcoming and the grandiose plans are already being pruned. For instance,
the Master plan envisaged a community forest springin in every noook and
corner and merrily projected huge manfower neeeds for forest rangers and
officers, a new college of forestry was justified. The capacity of the
Institute of foresty was increased from 110 rangers a year to 220 rangers a
year plus 30 forest officers ayear from 4-5 forest officers from Deherad dun.
After over 15 million dollars of aid in forest manpower procution alone in 10
years, the government is waking up to tight screws from the world bank/imf
structural adajust plan where the government is diagnosed to be bloated and
hence need o f trimming/ Foresters hve been fired and there has been a hiring
freeze for 3 years while the Institute of Forestry continues to churn out
unwanted foresters.
It is rumoured in the forest circles that there is a great deal of power
pullling going on between World Bank and Nepal ove rForest ACt 1993/94. The
World Bank will not give a big loan and and willnot persuade other to do so
unless Nepal endorses the rights of the local users to manage the forests
without any fear that the state will not take it back. Old habits die hard and
the Forest act piously recites principles to make the Bank happpy while
surresptiously inserting clausing that allow the state to take back the
forests and shoot people. Let us alll wathch and see.
Amulya Tuladhar
Clark University
USA
***************************************************************
Date: Sun, 21 Aug 1994 14:04:44 -0700 (PDT)
From: BKHANAL@GONZAGA.EDU
Subject: Re: The Nepal Digest - Aug 18, 1994 (5 Bhadra 2051 BkSm)
To: NEPAL@mp.cs.niu.edu
We all knpw how the traffic is in Nepal. I found an article by Allan
McKellar that describes it very well. I hope that this article can be
published for all the rest of the Nepali students to read.... Thanks.
- Bhushan Khanal
bkhanal@gonzaga.edu
Po. Box 631 Whitworth College
Spokane Wa. 99251
(509) 468-9973.
Driving in Nepal.......
Travelling in Nepal is almost hallucinatory potion of sound, spectacle and
experience. It is frequently heart-rendering, sometimeshilarious, most
exhilarating, always unforgetable - and, when you are on the roads,
extremely dangerous.
Most Nepali road users observe a version of highway code based on Sanskrit
text. These 12 rules of Nepali road are published for the first tme in
English.
Article I
The assumption of immortality is required of all road users.
Article II
Nepali traffic, like Nepali society, is structured on a strict caste
system. The following precedence must be accorded at all times. In
descending order, give way to: cows, elephants, heavy truck, buses,
official cars, camels, light trucks, buffalo, jeeps, ox-carts, private
cars, motorcycles, scooters, auto-rickshaws, pigs, dogs, pedal-rickshaws,
goats, bicycles(goods-carrying), handcarts, bicycles(passenger-carrying),
dogs, pedestrians.
Article III
All wheeled vehickes shall be driven in accordance with the maxim:
to slow is to falter, to brake is to fail, to stop is defeat.
This is Nepali driver's mantra.
Article IV
Use of horn (also known as the sonic fender or aural amulet):
Cars(IV,1,a-c):Short blasts(urgent) indicate supremacy, ie in clearing
dogs, rickshaw and pedestrians from path.
Long blasts (desperate) denote supplication, ie to incoming truck, "I am
going too fast to stop, so unless you slow down, we shall both die."
In extreme cases this may be accompanied by flashing headlights (frantic).
Single blast (casual) means "I have seen someone out of Nepal's 21 million
whom I recognize", "There is a bird on the road (which at this speed could
go through my window" or " I have not blown my horn for several minutes."
Trucks and buses (IV,2,a): All horn signals have the same meaning, viz, "I
have an all-up weight of approximately 12.5 tons and have no intention of
stopping, even if I could."
This signal may be emphasized by the use of headlamps(insouciant).
Article IV remains subject to the provision of Order of Precedence in
Article II above.
Article V
All manoeuvres, use of horn and evasive actions shall be left until the
last possible moment.
Article VI
In the absence of seatbelts (which there is), car occupants shall wear
garlands of marigolds, These should be kept fastened at all times.
Article VII
Right of the way: Traffic entering from the left has the priority.So has
traffic from the right, and also traffic in the middle. Lane discipline
(VII,1): All Nepali traffic at all times and irrespective of direction of
travel shall occupy the center of the road.
Article VIII
Roundabouts: Nepal has no roundabouts. Apparent traffic islands in the
middle of crossroads have no traffic management function. Any other
impression should be ignored.
Article IX
Overtaking is mandatory. Every moving vehicle is required to overtake
every other moving vehicle, irespective of whether it has just overtaken
you. Overtaking should only be undertaken in suitable conditions, such as
in the face of incoming traffic, on blind bends, at junctions and in the
middle of villages/city centeres. No more than two inches should be
allowed between your vehicle and the one you are passing - and one inch in
case of bicycles or pedestrians.
Article X
Nirvana may be achived through head-on crash.
Article XI
Reversing: no longer applicable since no vehicle in Nepal has reverse
gear.
Article XII
The 10th incarnation of god was as an articulated tanker......
Hope you enjoyed this.......
****************************************************************
From: mbhatta@sas.upenn.edu (Madhav Bhatta)
Subject: Nepal: The Futureless Country -Dil Basnet
To: NEPAL@mp.cs.niu.edu (Nepal Digest)
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 14:52:28 -0400 (EDT)
Nepal Futureless country ?
>From the begining of our history, Nepal has been set back in every aspect
of physical development. One has to accept that there had been lots of
development in our culture, arts & architecture. The holy sites of Budha's
to Sita 's birthplaces all lie in Nepal. They were the sources of peace &
prosperity for the whole world. We still have our strongly developed &
preserved culture. We are proud of our culture. That is why we have strong
family values. We can find contrast between the ancient Nepal & present
Nepal. Of course the whole world has been changing, so is Nepal. However
our country could not be developed physically.
Only few parts of our country are accessible . Rest of the country is
still behind as it was 200 years ago. The government never reached to
those part of Nepal. Whatever the foreign aid the government got had been
used only in few part of the country. The rural areas of Nepal lack the
basic needs of life. People who live there are still in stone age. Most
of them haven't seen even a bicycle, whereas other Nepalis are using
Disc-satellite antenna to watch T.V. in city areas like Kathmandu. Only
for a hand full of people schools & the institutions of higher educations
are accessible. There are no schools in rural villages. There are no
health posts or health care centres. 99% of the people live below the
poverty line, that is in the Internatonal standard. Eonomically, Nepal
lies in the fourth World, not even Third World. Now the question rises who
is responsible for this? The Ranas, the Shahs, the Panches, Koirala
government or the people? The day to day life of public has been ruined
by the protests and street violence initiated by the different political
parties. The inflation is sky-rocketing. How long can our country survive
in such a state? Now it is time for all the Nepalis of different walks of
life to think about the bleak ( not that it is any good now) and grave
future. It doesn't matter where we live, inside or outside the country.
All of us will be affected if we cannot bring change in our country. If
this situation goes on there is a likely possibility of civil war in our
country. As a result one day we will be watching our country in CNN like
Rawanda and Somalia. At that time we will be too late. Therefore, I
request all of my Nepali friends to think and do something for our
country. For this mission a single individual cannot do much but we can
make a difference if all of us are united. There are many intellectuals
and concerned Nepalis living in Nepal and abroad. If all of us are united
in a network to bring change in Nepal we certainly can make difference.
But if we bicker and fight among ourselves like the politicians and
leaders back home in Nepal for our personal agendas then we are doomed.
Finally,I urge and request all of Nepalis living in Nepal and abroad send
the reaction and opinion regarding this issue. I hope everybody will
contribute for their motherland.
-Dil Basnet
Alliance for Nepal
*************************************************************************
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 18:42:07 -0400
From: rajendra@coos.dartmouth.edu (Rajendra P. Shrestha)
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Sanskrit Controversy in Nepal
SOURCE: DPA
HEADLINE: Controversy rages over teaching Sanskrit in Nepal
BYLINE: By Shyam Bahadur
DATELINE: Kathmandu, Aug 20
BODY:
A recent government decision to make Sanskirt, the ancient and
virtually dead language, compulsory in schools threatens to aggravate
ethnic tension in Nepal.
At least three ethnic organisations recently submitted a
memorandum to Prime Minster Girija Prasad Koirala urging him to
withdraw the decision.
They said the decision went against the spirit of the Nepalese
constitution - and in any case would serve no useful purpose.
Opposition to Sanskrit classes is snowballing, with political
parties joining the opposition.
Ironically many leaders of ruling and opposition political parties
had initially backed the proposal to introduce Sanskrit as a
compulsory subject in schools back in 1991.
Advocates of the language say Sanskrit is the root of the Nepali
language - the official language of the Kingdom and listed as mother
tongue by over 53 per cent of the country's population of 19 million.
They managed to muster signatures of more than 60 per cent of the
members of the now dissolved Lower House of parliament to back as
compulsory Sanskrit in schools.
Sanskrit belongs to the Indo-European group of languages and is
viewed as the root of many languages of the South Asian subcontinent
including Hindi, India's official language.
Sanskrit was compulsory in schools until two decades ago when
authorities deemed it served no useful purpose and merely a burden
which strudents had to bear.
The subject was taken out of the school curriculum soon after the
introduction in 1972 of what was then described as "vocational" and
"realism"-oriented education stressing the dignity of labour.
Arun Khadka, a 15-year-old class ten student who will not be
affected by the government decision, said: "It is like asking students
in England compulsorily to study Latin, as their official language is
English. There is no justification for making Sanskrit compulsory in
Nepal".
Nepal, though small, has a wide spectrum of ethnic groups
speaking a wide variety of languages and dialects including those that
owe their origin to the Tibeto-Burmese language.
Various ethnic groups in Nepal have vehemently opposed compulsory
Sanskrit. They apparently feel that high caste Brahmins who occupy
positions of power in democratic Nepal are imposing their will, and
that their own languages, dialects and culture are threatened.
Under the new government regulations, Sanskrit is compulsory in
all government-financed lower secondary schools. The decision has
affected those studying in classes four to seven.
It means some 3.5 million children studying in primary and lower
secondary schools has been affected. About 500,000 who go to higher
secondary schools would be exempted.
The government decision had followed extensive debates and long
preparations. Now, with only a caretaker government in power, any
further decision will have to await the outcome of the November 13
elections - and even then it will be years before the decision can be
reversed. dpa sc zm
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