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The Nepal Digest Friday 11 August 95: Shrawan 27 2052 BkSm Volume 41 Issue 4
Today's Topics:
1. TAJA_KHABAR - News From Nepal
2. KURA_KANI
Culture - Festivals or Fun, But for whom?
Health - Heart and Health
Social - Re: Mind your tongue please!
Military - Anit Aircraft Guns
******************************************************************************
* TND Board of Staff *
* ------------------ *
* Editor/Co-ordinator: Rajpal J. Singh a10rjs1@mp.cs.niu.edu *
* TND Archives: Sohan Panta k945184@atlas.kingston.ac.uk *
* SCN Correspondent: Rajesh B. Shrestha rshresth@black.clarku.edu *
* *
* +++++ Food For Thought +++++ *
* *
* "If you don't stand up for something, you will fall for anything" -Dr. MLK *
* "Democracy perishes among the silent crowd" - Sirdar Khalifa *
* *
******************************************************************************
**********************************************************************
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 1995 10:20:02 EDT
To: The Nepal Digest <NEPAL@cs.niu.edu>
From: uc_ece_1167 <rpanth@ece.uc.edu>
Subject: Pashupati
> One morning I went to Pashupatinath for Darshan. I was quite shocked to
> see how the police were treating the older women who were standing in
> line for hours to see the Pashupati and get some Phool and Prasad. In
> some cases, the police were even using their battans on these women. The
> women's line was quite long and static, but what disgusted me the
> most was to see a special line of rich marawari tourists (who
> had just gotten off the buses) who were getting special treatment, a
> special feature, I was told, at Pashupati these days.
>
I have heard the same thing from other people. I have also heard
that there are two different types of 'chandan' distributed. A rough and
coarse type for the less charitable and a smoother type for the generous.
Though you term it as "a special feature....these days", I have known
about this for a long time and it may just be that it is more open and
noticable now than ever before. This is not only a case of Pashupati
catering to the rich, but sign that the degradation of morality in Nepal has
not even spared Pashupati Nath.
Priniti Panday
*************************************************************************
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: December HINDUISM TODAY available free by email
Date: Wed, 9 Aug 95 17:03:07 EDT
From: rshresth@BBN.COM
Namaskarams!
The December issue of Hinduism Today is "on line". You may request
articles by file name. Note that it is suggested you include your
internet mail address in the request message.
Also, be sure to include the issue name, in the format
issue/article
And, be sure to capitalize as shown.
For example, send the mail server the message
begin
mail 0004254561@mcimail.com
send aug_94/Publishers_Desk
end
The above is only an example. Be SURE to use your
own actual mail address, not "0004254561", which is
not a real Internet address.
Take note: even the most slight misspelling (such as
Nov instead of nov) will cause the server to respond with
"not found".
PLEASE do not reply to this message. Replies are automatically
discarded.
The mail server address, where requests should be sent, is:
pslvax!hinduism_today@ucsd.edu
The list of file names (articles are downloaded by file name)
for December include:
dec_94/Editorial
dec_94/Goodness
dec_94/Hindu_Timeline_1
dec_94/Hindu_Timeline_2
dec_94/Hindu_Timeline_3
dec_94/Hindu_Timeline_4
dec_94/Hindu_Timeline_5
dec_94/Hindu_Timeline_Article
dec_94/Hindu_Timeline_Introduction
dec_94/Kinder_Vision
dec_94/Letters_to_the_Editor
dec_94/Masthead
dec_94/My_Turn
dec_94/Publishers_Desk
dec_94/Return_to_Uganda
dec_94/Scriptural_Quotes
dec_94/Sin_and_Suffering
dec_94/Table_of_Contents
dec_94/Year_in_Review
--<TABLE OF CONTENTS>--
Index: Animal Advocate Amala Akkineni , A Kinder Vision
Index: Hindus Return to Uganda, After 22 years of Exile
Index: Hindu Timeline #1 -2.5m to -1000
Index: Hindu Timeline #2 -1000 to 1000
Index: Hindu Timeline #3 1000ce to 1500
Index: Hindu Timeline #4 1500 to 1800ce
Index: Hindu Timeline #5 1800ce to the Present and Beyond!
Index: Hindu Timeline Intro., A History of India and Hindu Dharma
Index: Hindu Timeline Article, Here's a guide to competing theories
Index: Editorial: History as Hoax, New Finds and Intriguing Theories
Index: Letters to the Editor
Index: Masthead
Index: My Turn, Hindu Marriage Duties
Index: Publisher's Desk, Let's Stop Bashing Our Priests
Index: Sin and Suffering, Hinduism admits of no mortal sin
Index: Goodness in the 8,000-year-old wisdoms of the Vedas
Index: 1994: Year in Review
Index: Scriptural Quotes
******************************************************************
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Politics alias Affair-e-domesticus???
Date: Wed, 9 Aug 95 17:06:34 EDT
From: neup2011@mach1.wlu.ca (Bhanu Neupane u)
FOLKS!
I don't know what is happening in Nepal and to "Bichara" Nepalis(in Nepal).
Yet the recent election and "wiered" political development have led to a
tremendous political uprising among Nepalis- and that too at every level.
Here are ten similar overheard gossips to validate how recent political
exercises are becoming "affair-e-domesticus".
10. Two love-birds chit-chating overheard at New Road : "Maiya, don't forget
to meet me at Nirulas, we "still" have got a lot to talk about - who
becomes the next prime minister. I will be bringing a "pack" of
evening edition of newspapers along...be there at 5:30..."
9. Father talking to his son overheard at Baneshwor: "Look Chhora, I
don't have lots of money ( and our surname is also not Koirala..). I
can't allow you to blow my money like Congressis did on their
election campaign. You should learn to pick-up "girls" on the basis
of your ability to talk and not on the basis of money...."
8. Coach shouting to loosing football team overheard at Dasharath Stadium
" Hey Keta HO! Its only half time, we still can make a great comeback like
RPP did in recent election."
7. Big brother scolding his yonger brother overheared at Sanepa " Gadha!
Bhate!! you can't use my moterbike like Girija used Napal Army
Helicopters..."
6. Three kids fighting over a piece of bread (pauroti) observed at
Lagankhel " Oho, Garhai Parla! even UML no longer exercises "Barabari".
I should get the bigger portion of the bread...."
5. Wife yelling at husband overheard at Dillibazar " Darn Budha!
hurry-up and bring some sugar, the guests will be coming home anytime.
You can't simply watch me doing all the works without sharing.
Kasto Krisha Prasad Bhattarai Jasto...."
4. A dope-pusher selling marijuana to a "Thangne Bideshi" overheard at
Thamel - "Ey! Kuire! Ganja Kinne? This stuff looks "disgusting" yet
its very cheap and gives a really good kick. J.u.s..t like UML in recent
election..."
3. Teacher shouting at two boys fighting over a marbel overheard at Hindu
Vidyapith Pashupati- " Stop that Badmash Ho! I say stop at once,
fighting like ManMohan and Girija! ITs a marbel you won't be able
to divide it equally... only one of you can have it..."
2. Two elderly women talking about the marrige of their grand-daughters
overheard at Bluwatar " Haina Hajoor! This marrige has to be cancelled
somehow. The prospective groom is just like RPP. He looks fine now and
very matching but no one guarantee that he will remain with your
grand-doughter for ever...he will anytime leave chhori and marry
someone else. Its all for dowry...
1. A mother yelling at her doughter overheared at Gyaneswor " Kasto Keti
Rahechhi - You don't have to wear that make-up. Shailaza still hasn't
become the prime-minister of Nepal..."
(the girl did reply - Oho! you know what Ama- Chandra Dai Aundai
Hoisinchha Re! (yet large part of this gossip has been sensored)
WITH APOLOGY
[Especially to Mr. Nam Navaeko Nepali, who has been recently sending large
email messages, with heaps of derogatory comments (I am enjoying your
stuffs man!). I stand indifferent and endow an apolitical self. Dear Mr.
Anonymous, you should spare me, however why don't you be man enough to
reveal your identity. ] ==========
Bhanu
****************************************************************
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Telecommunications in Nepal
Date: Wed, 9 Aug 95 17:41:51 EDT
From: ian@icompub.demon.co.uk (Ian Geldard)
Can you help?
As a researcher for the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity's 1996 Yearbook, I
am attempting to compile a list of those telecommunications carriers,
cellular/paging operators and suppliers of any value added services
that have been granted licenses to operate by their respective
countries. Ideally I would like the information to include the name of
the company, its address, telephone number, fax number and the nature
of their business.
In return for providing such information I'd be happy to email any
correspondents a draft chapter from the yearbook which examines the
telecommunications development in that country. This can range from a
few paragraphs for a country such as Nauru, to the equivalent of
around 20 pages of text for China. So the more information you can
provide, the more I'll supply. Please reply by email to
ian@icompub.demon.co.uk as I will not have the time to track Usenet
follow-ups.
Some of you may not be too familiar with the APT so I've included a
brief description and contact address below. If you require more
information, please contact the APT direct, or email me.
The Asia-Pacific Telecommunity was established in May 1979 to serve as
a regional telecommunications organization under the auspices of the
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) by an
inter-govermental agreement. The APT maintains close cooperation with
relevant UN bodies/agencies and international and regional
organizations, and covers all aspects and areas of telecommunications.
Membership of the APT is open to any state within the region which is
a member of the UN or the ESCAP. The APT currently has 28 members,
four associate members, 32 affilitate members and three private sector
entities.
APT Headquarters,
12/49 Soi 5 Chaengwattana Road
Bangkok 10210, Thailand
Tel: +66 2 5730044/5736893-5
Fax:+66 2 5737479/5744226
PS. If anyone wants a copy of the 1995 edition of the yearbook it
costs US$185 and can be ordered from the address in my .sig below.
Ian Geldard, Researcher - APT Yearbook 1996
ian@icompub.demon.co.uk
Icom Publications Ltd.
Chancery House, St Nicholas Way, Sutton SM1 1JB, UK
*******************************************************************
Date: Wed, 9 Aug 1995 22:17 EST
From: ATULADHAR@vax.clarku.edu
Subject: Re: The Nepal Digest - August 9, 1995 (25 Shrawan 2052 BkSm)
To: NEPAL@cs.niu.edu
Speaking for the Gurkhas
==========================
This is in reference to a recent news item posted by PONTA on the contribution
of the Gurkhas to the British fight with the Japanese in the WW II.
I found it hightly objectionable that members of the Rana military families
should speak for the heroic exploits of Gurkhas who fought outside the
homeland.
The news item quoted two prominent Ranas, Sridhar Shamsher, connected with the
ex-Servicement organization in Nepal and Hemant Rana, a professor of history
in the Bhaktapur military campus/college. Given that it is these Ranas and
the Shahs, and the so-called Thakuriyas who monopolize upper level positions
in the Nepal Army and prevent Victoria Cross caliber Gurkhas from the hills
from enlisting and climbing up the Sandhurst training ladder, I think they
have no right to speak for and claim any political visibility for the exploits
of the WWII.
I was also pleasantly surprised to hear one quote from a "Brig. General"
Chutra Thapa of the the British Gurkha, could Ponta enlighten me about the
highest levels attained by theGurkkhas in the British ARmy, and second whether
his research unearthed any evidence of institutional racism in the form of
Orientalist military internal document that spelt out the hightest positions
Gurkhas may reach or was this mostly an unwritten rule in the British Army?
curious,
amulya
*****************************************************************
Date: Wed, 9 Aug 1995 22:23 EST
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
From: an173960@anon.penet.fi (Silent Do Good)
Description: Koernke says Nepalese Gurkhas are in Montana!
Mark Koernke, identified by millions of his radio/videotape fans as
"Mark from Michigan,"is well-known in the militia movement in the U.S.
Most of Koernke's messages are rife with two things: first, conspiracy
theories, with the Federal Government, Clintons, and foreign governments
as "conspirators;" and, second, hatred of minorities, mostly blacks, and
jews.
One of his conspiracy theories even involves Nepalese
Gurkhas (soldiers from Nepal).
Here is a small excerpt of _Time_ magazine's version of that
conspiracy theory:
And that's just for starters. Reliable
sources have detected 300,000 foreign
troops on American soil, including a con-
tingent of Nepalese Gurkhas in Montana,
this doctrine holds. Soon they will attempt
an outright takeover of America, dispersing
countless Patriots to dozens of detention
camps already built for the purpose by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(FEMA's employees are the new world or-
der's shadow government: "Only 59 to 63
out of 3,060 actually deal with storms, dis-
asters, hurricanes and nuclear attack.")
Once the nation is supine, it will be carved
into large regions ruled through terror by
new-world-order proconsuls. Microchips
will be implanted in every newborn child,
enabling the government to track each
move by a new generation of citizens.
Americans will live in slavery. Unless..."
-- _Time_, June 26, 1995
(page 61).
***********************************************************
Date: Wed, 9 Aug 1995 21:51 EST
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
From: nk18@columbia.edu (Niraj Kumar)
Subject: RE: Arun III project press release
I am reposting this press release (which Vijay had originally posted) in
regular format.
-niraj
WORLD BANK AND NEPAL TO DEVELOP ENERGY
ALTERNATIVES TO ARUN PROJECT
WASHINGTON, August 3, 1995 The World Bank and the Government of
Nepal have agreed to work expeditiously to develop alternative
approaches to meeting Nepal's energy needs following a decision by the
Bank not to proceed with plans to support the Arun III hydropower
project.
The agreement follows discussions between World Bank President
James D. Wolfensohn and Man Mohan Adhikari, the Prime Minister of
Nepal. Mr. Wolfensohn assured the Prime Minister that the Bank
attaches the highest priority to helping Nepal in devising and
implementing an alternative strategy for meeting its needs for electric
power. The Prime Minister, in the changed situation, has requested the
Bank's financial support for alternative approaches and Mr. Wolfensohn
indicated that, subject to proposals meeting the Bank's normal lending
criteria, the institution would be prepared to provide such assistance.
As a result, talks have already begun between the World Bank and the
Government on specific proposals to take advantage of alternatives
available for meeting Nepal's power needs.
The World Bank had considered supporting the Arun III project
through a $175 million credit from the International Development
Association. Mr. Wolfensohn advised the Prime Minister that, following
a comprehensive review of the project and the subsequent
recommendations of senior staff, he had concluded that the Bank could
not support the project.
"Large complex projects require institutions like the World Bank
to weigh the benefits against the risks and then decide on their
feasibility. The judgment made over a year ago in the case of Arun
came out in favor of the project after substantial internal debate.
Irrespective of whether that was the right or wrong decision at the
time, I concluded that under today's circumstances and with the
information at my disposal, the risks to Nepal were too great to
justify proceeding with the project," Mr. Wolfensohn said.
"The public debate on this controversial project was valuable in
that it served to heighten the concerns of Bank staff about the risks
faced by the project. It also led to a review by the World Bank's
Inspection Panel of environmental and social aspects of the project
with the result that measures to address these concerns were
strengthened. Although this project will not go ahead, the Panel's
work remains relevant to the Bank s operations in general and to future
investments in Nepal's power sector in particular," the World Bank
President added.
While the Bank's review as well as the findings of the Inspection
Panel confirmed that the environmental and social mitigation actions
that were currently stipulated for the proposed project were
satisfactory, Mr. Wolfensohn s decision to advise the Government of
Nepal that the Bank could not move ahead with support for the project
was based on three main considerations:
S The Bank had always recognized the demands that a project
of this size and complexity would place on a small country like
Nepal. Since the initial appraisal, the Bank had established
increasingly rigorous standards for the implementation of the
project, and these reinforced initial concerns about the burdens
being placed on the Government. The Government recognizes these
constraints and had agreed to collaborate with capacity-building
efforts recommended by the Bank's management in 1995. However,
the limited capacity of institutions in Nepal to implement the
long list of actions that would have to be taken to ensure success
means that it could take up to five years longer than originally
anticipated for this highly complex project to be completed.
Demanding tasks relating to the operations and financial
management of Nepal's power utility and the need to implement
effectively the social and environmental actions highlighted by
the Inspection Panel, would have imposed requirements which the
Bank now judges to be beyond what Nepal could realistically have
achieved at present.
S While there is support for Arun III, both among all Nepal's
political parties and from most of the residents of the valley,
the Government would still have had to implement a number of
measures such as adjusting tariffs and prioritizing expenditures
and sustain them over the next few years to ensure that the
project did not crowd out priority social expenditures. While not
questioning the Government's commitment to take these steps, the
Bank recognized the difficulties inherent in developing widespread
popular support and understanding of such measures.
S In addition to the financing from the World Bank, the
project had always depended on funds being provided from several
other sources. Some cofinancing partners did not feel they were
in a position to commit the necessary funds within the next 12 to
18 months. This extremely difficult financing picture was further
complicated by the fact that the estimated cost of the project had
increased by $30 to $40 million as a result of delays that have
already been incurred. As a result, the Bank felt there was no
realistic prospect of firming up the financing plan in the near
future.
The President's review reaffirmed the hydropower potential in the
Arun valley as a promising option for meeting Nepal's long term energy
needs, subject to improving the capacity to address social and
environmental impacts of the likely projects and the creation of a more
pro-active community development program in the valley.
A team of senior Bank staff is expected to visit Nepal shortly,
and the President has instructed the team to give this effort top
priority.
"Nepal's growth and efforts to alleviate poverty hinge heavily on
the country s ability to generate power. These are the benefits that
the Bank had hoped would be generated by Arun. The challenge is to
work with the international community to bring alternatives to fruition
as quickly as possible. Energy is crucial to Nepal s prosperity," Mr.
Wolfensohn said.
Niraj Kumar
School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
420 W 118th St. #1308, NY, NY 10027
tel: 212-854-4823; fax: 212-222-4276; email: nk18@columbia.edu
**************************************************************
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 1995 09:46:25 +0100 (BST)
From: B J Lawson-mcdowall <hspbjlm@bath.ac.uk>
To: The Nepal Digest <NEPAL@cs.niu.edu>
Subject: Bikash Pandey + AIII
If my memory serves me well Bikash Pandey (ITDG, Arun Concerned) is now in
the States. Where ever he is I congratulate him on the World Bank's
decision. I found him informed and articulate both in his critique of
Arun III and more importantly in his advocacy for the alternatives. Given
recent events vis-a-vis Arun III I would be interested to see a piece by
him appear on the TND. Is there anyone out there who could arrange it?
Bruce Lawson-McDowall
CDS, Bath.
*****************************************************
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 95 10:17:33 -0400
To: NEPAL@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Re: World Bank Kills Arun III [soc.culture.nepal #8135]
From: skpandey@athena.mit.edu (Shreekrishna Pandey)
The World Bank's cancellation of Arun III funding is a big victory for the
process of capacity building in hydro sector in Nepal. For some years to come,
the local manufacturers and hydro companies can now venture projects that are of
moderate size. Slowly, their COLLECTIVE capacity will increase as has been the
case in the last decade. Arguably, the Arun project concerned many opponents for
the harm it would do to local companies more than the environment. Now, hopefully
more Nepali engineers will be able to handle projects in Nepal. And maybe if Kali
Gandaki's penstock pipes are washed away by a flood in the future, we won't have
to make a special request to Japan and wait for months for a replacement, as
happened with Kulekhani.
Reading recent articles, it becomes clear that international donors never wanted
to fund Arun only and no other project. They are equally interested in smaller
alternatives too; it is just some government officials and NPC in Nepal that
oppose the notion of giving the alternatives a chance. The 10% commission from
contractors of Arun III - which would be around $76.4 million - essentially
'bought' the decision makers from our side. Our former man at NPC, Ram Sharan
Mahat, used to be a big advocate of "small is beautiful" before coming to power.
After taking charge, however, he completely trashed his ideology and started
branding the opposers of Arun as "bikash birodhi" (= opposers of development).
UML had no clear opinion on Arun when it was in opposition. It said it did
not have enough information to oppose Arun although it was skeptical of the
project because of its high cost. Now, UML is expressing surprise that WB has
cancelled Arun's funding!
The "no-option trap" that was claimed to be Arun proved wrong. Active and
grassroot opposition supported by logic has made its thrust felt so massively for
the first time in Nepal. We can hope this will serve an an excellent paradigm for
planners in WB and especially Nepal in the future. The government will also be
wise to co-operate with the private sector and rewrite some of the existing laws
that are impeding the private enterpreneurs.
Shreekrishna Pandey
*********************************************************************
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Casteism and Hinduism: "The Birth of Jaati-Prathaa" by Dinkar
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 95 16:04:08 EDT
From: rvarma@stallion.jsums.edu (Rajiv Varma)
"The Birth of Jati-Prathaa"
Based on "Samskriti key Chaar Adhyaaya" (Hindi) by Ramdhari Sinh Dinkar
(Translated by Pandit S.N. Vyas)
The RgVeda mentions three varnas. With the emergence of Shudras, the Vedic
society had four varnas. The institution of Chatur-varnya was not a bad
one in those days. Neither would we be crticisizing it had this
institution not proliferated into millions of jatis. In Gita, Sri Krsna
says with a lot a comfort that 4 varnas are divisions of 'maya' (implying
whatever we see thru our senses) on the basis of properties. He says
"Chaturvarnya maya srishtih guna-kram-vibhagashah". Swami Dayanand, and
Gandhiji also did not regard varnashram as abhorrent. However, what was
and is indeed shameful, that this institution degenerated into a system
with infinite jatis, the differences between high and low became acute,
and the Shudras were designated to be low-born and even untouchable. As of
today, the jati-prathaa is the biggest curse on the Hindu society, and
even the most informed Hindus fail to acknowledge this gross devia- tion.
These people mince no words in criticizing casteism, but their own actions
tell a different tale altogether.Hindu is 100% free to think what he/she
wants. His/Her speech has always been unrestrained. But the Hindu society
has mastered ways and means to control and restrict even the most simple
acts of its individual units. ...It is for this reason that even the Sikhs
who profess communism dare not shave their hair, since that could lead to
their ex-communication.
It is true that the number of jatis and up-jatis swelled due to mariages
of 'anulom' and 'pratilom' type. But it is very difficult to explain as to
what led the Aryans to create the institution of jati itself.
According to one of the hypotheses, the Aryans created 'jati' after they
came to India, and they realized that such an institution will help in the
assimilation of all types of people living in India. There were the
Dravids, who excelled in matters of Dharma, civilization and culture.
Perhaps, we also had Austric and Negroid tribes, whose civilizations were
not that much advanced. And then there were the Aryans who were proud of
themselves. And further still, there might have been groups who were
products of the mixtures of these groups. Overall, it is possible that
India had a wide range of people in those days, some totally civilized,
some half-civilized, some rich, some poor. Some of them might have been
into spirituality, and still others did not care an iota about spirit-
uality. Add to this, different customs, traditions, gods, goddesses etc.
The task to accomodate all these seemingly diverse groups was taken by the
Aryans. And for the fulfilment of this purpose, they resorted to the idea
of jati.
The modern notion of jati was perhaps not similar to the original one. And
it would not be totally correct to assert that profession was the only
basis of one's jati in those earlier days. Besides that, jati was also an
indicator to the level of cultural development of its members. Perhaps in
those days, a person from higher jati, was more refined than others. And
since higher jati persons were probably richer too, (not always) they had
better access to education and all the good things of life. Similarly, in
the same jati, persons belonging to one 'gotra' started regarding
themselves as better than the rest. Among the untouch- ables too, some
people were regarded as more untouchable than the rest. In fact, the
parameters which were used to categorize different jatis, were also used
to make further sub-divisions among jatis themselves.
The Aryans resorted to jatis, since they had charged themselves to find a
place for everyone in India, in one society. With that, they created a
long gallery, in which everyone, could find a seat at just the right
place.
If Aryanization was the desire of the Aryans, then the institution of jati
would have helped them a great deal, since Brahmins were in-charge in
matters concerning jatis, and without the consent of purohit, one could
not change his jati. All those who mastered the cultural mores of Aryans
rose on the ladder of caste pretty fast. Perhaps for this reason we see
that a lot to Dravids were Brahmins right from day one, and they in fact
assumed the duties of priesthood, not only for the Dravidians, but even
for the Aryans themselves. The idea of jati was not created to make sure
that Aryans remained aloof from the non-Aryans. In fact it was quite the
opposite. And this is what we see even today. Throughout hist- ory we have
seen the attempts by 'low' jatis to rise and join the 'dwij' by abstaining
from liqour and subscribing to ahmisa.
The fact that one could change his/her jati in the earlier days is borne
out by history. Sri JayaCahndra Vidyalankar writes: "Jati became a rigid
jati only in the 10th century, and even after that, it was not 100%
rigid. As late as the invasion of Shahabuddin Gauri, we see that non-
Hindus are included in the Hindu fold. In 1178 AD, Gauri lost to the
forces of Gujarat's minor-King Moolraj II. A big fraction of his forces
were taken as POW. The commanders of the Muslim army were designated as
Rajputs, and ordinary soldiers were designated as kolis, khants, babrees,
and meds.
Prof. KshitiMohan Sen writes: "In the earlier days, there were not so many
restrictions. Before the Kaliyug, intercaste marriages were not looked
down upon. And the Brahmins used to eat food cooked by Shudras. Then what
led to the curbs in KaliYug. Sham Shastri attributes this development to
rise of Buddhism and Jainism, which laid great emphasis on sam-nyasa. A
lot of higher caste persons turned away from violence. The Shudras did not
do so. And thus the food cooked by a Shudra became in- edible for the
higher caste people. Raja RajendraLal Mitra explains:" At the insistence
of Buddhists, Hindus stopped eating beef." And those who did not, went
down the social ladder.
That has been the service of 'jati' to the Hindu society. It was designed
to assimilate everyone into a broad based single fold. Mongols, Greeks,
Sakas, Abheers(now aheer),Yuchis, Huns, Turks, all these groups got
assimilated into the Indian society. And the credit for that goes to
'jati'. We never had a problem of finding a place for a newcomer. Since
each jati had its own divisions, every newcomer could find just the right
place for himself/herself that satistifed the requirements of compati-
bility from individual, familial and cultural perspectives.
As of today, the 'jati' system stands condemened. And it has started to
fall apart. But it has helped India in ancient times. Whenever one group
conquers another group, the victorious group has to decide the fate of the
conquered group. When this problem arose in America and Australia, the
whites solved it by wiping out the native populations, and settling
thereafter. Even to this date (i.e. 1955) the problem of Black vs White in
Africa is being solved in a similar manner in which it was solved in the
Americas and Austrailia. However, the Indian way has been the way of
ahimsa and love. The Aryans (if they were the conquerors) did not kill the
rest on account of their differentness. Rather, they found a place for
every one and included everyone into the same fold.
**********************************************************************
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Economic salvation
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 95 16:00:14 EDT
From: alan.r.wald@support.com
Regarding the cancellation of ARun III and tourism as an economic salvation
consider the case of SRi Lanka, aka "Paradise Island". Big buildup of hotels
and tourism in the early 1980s only to be wated by civil war and pollution of
tose vvery sites that drew the tourists in the first place. Bye dynamiting each
other and the coral reefs (easy fishing!!!) Sri Lanka literally blow up its
tourism business. If you visit any European capital city with an old section of
todwn, it is always, clean and well restored. This attract people to the city
center. More can be done in Kathmandu. All the temple got a fresh coat of paint
for the Kings coronation. Do we have to wait decades and decades for Nepal to
clean up. These efforts don't take lots of money. Just work. How about if
students, and government officials and business people and local resdients
donated one saturday a month to cleaning up the neighborhood. And took
repsonsibilty for making sure that no one continued to litter. I am not
proposing throwing people in jail or making laws. Just common sense and
responsibilty.
I am avaialble, but I want to see one government official (high ranking
official, not a "peon") working on one side of me and a local merchant on the
other. Kathmandu belongs to everyone who lives or visits there. Everyone is
repsonsible. In the 1960s the Black Power movement came up with a clever
slogan. "If you are not part of solution, you are part of the problem".
See you in Katmandu.
Bye, Alan
*******************************************************
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: News from Nepal
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 95 16:06:04 EDT
From: sshakya@lynx.dac.neu.edu (Sunil Shakya)
Julus For Hire (A satire by Ashutosh Tiwari)
Taken from Spotlight newsweekly, Aug. 12, '94.
My friend Anup Raj is a smooth operator, the kind who can sell saris
even to Marwaris. In college, all he ever talked about was how to make
tons of money, go out with Sunny and be funny in front of those dainty
damsels attending the nearest all-women's school.
But we lost touch after his case-study-laden MBA days on the
banks of the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts-the same place also
famous as the bastion of American capitalism where the collective
first-year salary of the graduates is higher than Somalia's GDP.
Anyway, imagine my surprise when I spotted Anup Raj the other
day in Indrachowk- all suited-booted like a Zee TV host, nonchalantly
puffing out Surya churot in small concentric circles.
"Hi Anup Raj! Fancy meeting you here. I thought by now you were
some big-time investment banker on Wall Street, pulling all-nighters at
Goldman Sachs."
In response, Anup Raj merely flashed his you-stupid-devil smile,
and waved his cigarette, signaling me to follow him.
Puzzled by his uncharacteristic silence, I looked around, and
seeing nothing unusual, decided to take his lead. I figured he was up
to something.
A couple minutes' quiet walk through the haphazard row of parked
Marutis and Hero Hondas, and we landed in front of a cement house,
strategically hidden behind the huge parking lot of that made-in-Hong
Kong, sold-in-Kathmandu bought-by-Indians Super Market.
Following Anup Raj, I climbed up a flight of paan-stained
stairs, only to come upon an open corridor. With the Surya-stub firmly
between his lips, Anup Raj reached into his back pocket, and pulled out
a Jawalakhel Distillery locket that jingled with yellow keys. He clicked
open the black Chinese lock that hung on the wood of the last room.
Pushing the door open, he looked at me, and with a flourish of an
A-class Sri Tin Maharaj, he swept me in.
The room was sparsely furnished. A bare floor, a desk with some
papers and a phone, a couple of chairs, a computer in one corner, lots
of space and that was all. From one window, I could see two pigeons
cavorting romantically on the head of the Juddha Sumsher statue, as
though they were Karishma KC and Rajesh Hamal of the pigeon-world.
Setting on a chair, I surveyed the pictures on the walls: Gaudy,
brightly painted life-size portraits each of Madhav Nepal, Girija Prasad
Koirala, Man Mohan Adhikari, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Surya Bahadur
Thapa, Hridyesh Tripathy and Ram Raja Prasad Singh were all doing
'namaste' to me. All grinning like Cheshire cats. Looking at them, I
thought that all the Who's Who of Nepal's most famous geriatric club -
also known as politics - were right up on the walls of Anup Raj's
strange hide-out.
But in all my 15 odd years of knowing him, I had never thought
of Anup Raj as a political animal. As far as I knew, he liked politics
with all the passion of a fish taking to a bicycle. So why this sudden
change of heart?
"I am in the julus business," Anup Raj offered quietly, as
though reading my mind.
"Political tension in Nepal is great for my business," he
explained. "Thanks to democracy. Nepal now has a plethora of political
parties. You know them. All shout for God-knows-what causes. But, hey,
what's a political party without a supportive julus behind, right? My
job is to supply julus to the political parties. On demand. They pay me
well. I serve them well. Once in a while, I do lose a few lives. But
those are small losses compared to all wonders I am doing to strengthen
Nepal's democracy."
I didn't know whether to congratulate him or disagree with him.
So I kept quiet., letting him to philosophize.
"You know, after B-school in Boston, I did go to Wall Street for
a couple of years. But the work itself was boring. Spending all my time
punching LOTUS 1-2-3 was not my idea of using education for the greater
good of humanity. Besides, what I did merely consisted of making rich
Americans richer. So, naturally, I just couldn't reconcile my Clintonite
liberalism with market-based Reaganite conservatism...
"Soon, I kissed my French-Chinese live-in girlfriend good-bye,
gave up the over-the-Hudson apartment, cleared up my American Express
bills, and hurried back to Nepal last year. You know, to restore my
sanity. Today I'm in this julus business, and I'm very happy. I make
lots of money, but also have lots of free time."
As I listened to Anup Raj's autobiography, I wondered how he had
launched himself into the julus business. But suddenly he was silent, as
if lost in the lullaby of his own tale.
"This julus business is very good," he said after a while. "I
employ mostly unemployable youths who have come to Kathmandu from 14
zones and 75 districts. They are the zealots to whom an ideology does
not mean anything. As long as there's a julus, and Pepsi and samosa
after-ward, they go to do whatever is required of them. Why, just the
other day, Madhav Nepal phoned me for about thousand baliya-baanga. He
wanted them to shout slogans against Girija. The following day, Krishna
Prasad wanted another thousand guys at the Academy. Whew! I did manage
to meet the needs of both clients. Some of my workers do double and even
triple shifts. And they get paid more with elections coming, my only
fear is that I would not be able to keep up with the demands for julus.
My agents are already out in the drought-ridden eastern Tarai, looking
for hungry-looking recruits...
"Getting new recruits is no easy task, you see," went on Anup
Raj. "I have to train them to chant slogans, clap hard, pull apart
railings, throw stones at public buses, burn telephone exchanges,
laathi-charge the police and even face the bullets. All this is hard
work, you know."
Then the phone rang. From what I could make out, Ganesh Man was
on the line. He wanted 500 youths at the Khula Manch in Tundikhel to be
in the audience while he awarded Mangala Bhauju with a "mother of
democracy" prize.
At last, I left Anup Raj's office, with a sneaking admiration
for the way the guy had combined his business acumen with political
conscience.
As Rod Stewart once sang, some guys have all the luck.
(Message inbox:94)
-- using template mhl.format --
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 1995 12:38:00 EDT
To: a10rjs1@cs.niu.edu
From: DGURUNG@CLEMSON.EDU
Subject: DALAI LAMA ON LIVING TOGETHER
Return-Path: <DGURUNG@CLEMSON.EDU>
Content-Type: text
Content-Length: 6256
We Must Live Together Without Trying To Destroy One Another
(NYT)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
By THE DALAI LAMA Forwarded by: Dan Hodel
<trcseattle@igc.apc.org>
(Distributed by New York Times Special Features)
The 50th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
reminds us of the horrifying nature of nuclear destruction.
It is instant, total and irreversible.
Like our neglect and abuse of the natural environment, it has the
potential to affect the lives -- not only of many defenseless
people living now in various parts of the world, but also those of
future generations.
We have recently seen how new-found freedoms, widely celebrated
though they are, have given rise to fresh economic difficulties
and unleashed long-buried ethnic and religious tensions, which
contain the seeds for a new cycle of conflict.
In the context of our newly emerging global community, all forms
of violence, especially war, have become totally unacceptable as a
means of settling disputes.
Although war has always been part of human history, in ancient
times there were winners and losers. If a nuclear exchange were to
occur now, there would be no winners.
Finally, realizing this danger, steps are being taken to eliminate
nuclear weapons -- a welcome sign. But in a volatile world, the
risk remains as long as even a handful of these weapons still
exists.
The greatest single danger facing all living beings on this planet
is the threat of nuclear destruction.
In the event of nuclear war no one will win, because no one will
survive.
I have envisioned that the entire Tibetan plateau should become a
free refuge where humanity and nature can live in peace and
harmonious balance.
But China -- which occupies Tibet with the presence of a large
military force -- has been unwilling to respond constructively.
China is reported to have stationed about 90 nuclear warheads and
to have dumped an unknown quantity of radioactive waste in Tibet.
This not only endangers human and animal lives but also adversely
affects the fragile environment of the Tibetan plateau.
The key elements of my proposal for Tibet as a Zone of Peace
include the demilitarization and prohibition of the manufacture,
testing and stockpiling of nuclear weapons and other armaments on
the Tibetan plateau.
When I visited Costa Rica in 1989 I saw how a country can develop
successfully without an army, to become a stable democracy
committed to peace and the protection of the natural environment.
This confirmed my belief that my vision of Tibet in the future is
a realistic plan, not merely a dream.
Our world is growing smaller -- politically and economically more
interdependent -- and the world's people are becoming increasingly
like one community.
Yet we are also being drawn together by the very serious problems
we face: overpopulation, dwindling natural resources and an
environmental crisis.
We have an obligation to promote a new vision of society, one in
which war has no place in resolving disputes, but in which
nonviolence is the pre-eminent value in all human relations.
On the human level, nobody actually wants war because it brings
unspeakable suffering. Everyone wants peace.
But we need a genuine peace founded on mutual trust and the
realization that as brothers and sisters we must all live together
without trying to destroy one another.
Even if one nation or community dislikes another, they have no
alternative but to live together. And under the circumstances it
is much better to live together happily.
The necessary foundation for is still something of an experiment
on this planet, if it is successful it will open the way to a far
more peaceful world in the 21st century.
War and large military establishments are the greatest sources of
violence in our world. Whether their purpose is defensive or
offensive, these vast powerful organizations exist solely to kill
human beings.
War is neither glamorous nor attractive. Like a fire in the human
community, it consumes living beings and its very nature is one of
tragedy and suffering.
Military establishments are destructive not only in times of war.
By their very design they are the single greatest violators of
human rights.
Once an army has become a powerful force, there is every risk it
will destroy the happiness of its own country. As long as there
are powerful armies there will always be the danger of
dictatorship.
Throughout history, mankind has pursued peace one way or another.
Witnessing the mass slaughter in our century has given us the
stimulus and opportunity to control war.
To do so, it is clear we must disarm. And that can only occur
within the context of new political and economic relationships.
Our ultimate goal should be the demilitarization of the entire
planet.
To achieve global demilitarization our first step should be the
total dismantling of all nuclear, biological and chemical
weapons.
The second step should be the elimination of all offensive arms.
And the third step should be the abolition of all national
defensive forces. To protect and safeguard humanity from future
aggression we can create an international force to which all
member states would contribute.
Such reforms would result in a stable international environment.
In addition, the immense financial dividend reaped from the
cessation ssfully as peoples emerge from oppression.
Every individual has a responsibility to help guide our human
family in the right direction.
Since periods of great change such as the present one come so
rarely in human history, it is up to each of us to use this time
well to help create a more peaceful world.
c.1995 The Office Of His Holiness, The Dalai Lama, Dharamsala
(The Dalai Lama is spiritual leader of Tibet. Since 1959 he has
campaigned from exile in India for the peaceful return of Tibet to
independence from Chinese military occupation -- work for which he
was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
(This article is adapted from the book ``Critical Mass: Voices for
a Nuclear-Free Future,'' edited by Greg Ruggiero and Stuart
Sahulka, to be published by the Campaign for Peace and Democracy
and Open Media Publishing Co., Westfield, N.J., e-mail:
openmag(AT)intac.com.)
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