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The Nepal Digest Thursday 18 Jan 96: Magh 4 2052 BS: Year5 Volume46 Issue6
Today's Topics:
1. Message from TND Editorial Board
2. KURA_KANI
Social - No Bamboo, No Flute: Killing a Woman in the Womb
Political - Bhutanese Refuges
Tourism - Trekking Plan
Technology - SuperNova-Nepal Internet Services
******************************************************************************
* TND Board of Staff *
* ------------------ *
* *
* TND Foundations Home Page: http://www.nepal.org *
* -------------------- *
* webmaster email: tnd@nepal.org *
* *
* TND Foundations contributions can be mailed payable to: *
* TND Foundations *
* c/o R. J. Singh *
* 44 Greenridge Ave *
* White Plains, NY 10605, USA *
* *
* 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 *
* Webmaster Correspondent: Pradeep Bista tnd@nepal.org *
* *
* +++++ Food For Thought +++++ *
* *
* "LIFE: Indulgence vs Seeking Truth - Which is your forte?" -Sirdar_Khalifa *
* "If you don't stand up for something, you will fall for anything" -Dr. MLK *
* "Democracy perishes among the silent crowd" -Sirdar_Khalifa *
* *
******************************************************************************
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From: TND Foundations <tnd@nepal.org>
To: The Nepal Digest <nepal@cs.niu.edu>
Subject: TND Foundation Contribution Fund
Dear TND members:
TND Foundations is accepting your generous contribution in an effort to
find a permanant home for The Nepal Digest (TND).
You are encouraged to send your contribution payabale to:
TND Foundations
c/o Rajpal J. Singh
44 Greenridge Ave
White Plains, NY 10605
Following members have been kind with their generous contributions:
Mahesh K. Maskey Arlington, MA
Rajpal J. Singh White Plains, NY
John Mage New York, NY
Bhanu B. Niraula Flushing, NY
Amulya R. Tuladhar Worcester, MA
Mary Deschene Baltimore, MD
Pratyoush Onta Kathmandu, Nepal
Anita Regmi Wheaton, MD
Subas Sakya Pumona, NY
Bal Krishna Sharma East Lansing, MI
TND offeres heartful thanks to all the generous contributors.
Sincerely
TND Foundations
tnd@nepal.org
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Date: Tue, 16 Jan 1996 17:27:54 +0000 (GMT)
From: strawn <chris.strawn@queen-elizabeth-house.oxford.ac.uk>
To: the nepal digest <NEPAL@cs.niu.edu>
Subject: Bhutanese refugee update 15 January (fwd)
FROM Jesuit Refugee Service Asia/Pacific
DATE 15 January 1996
REGARDING Bhutanese demonstrations-update 15 January 1996
Over 200 Bhutanese refugees held in India after staging demonstrations in
theIndian state of West Bengal have returned to refugee camps in Nepal.
leaving the number still in detention to nine. 101 refugees were released
last week from a jail in Darjeeling district after signing after signing
bond letters that they would no longer violate the law and order in India.
Another group of approximately 119 were unconditionally released from
Siliguri on Saturday.
Another demonstration has begun on 14 January 1996. 300 peace walkers have
begun a walk into Bhutan in order to appeal directly to the Bhutanese king
to resolve the situation of the Bhutanese refugees. Observers are
concerned that this group are willing to have their own blood shed if that
is required to raise awareness. Reports indicate they will attempt to
cross into India in 17 January, where Indian security forces have gathered
with the intention of sending them back.
The nine refusing to sign the letter are pressing for unconditional
release. They have vowed to begin an indefinite hunger strike inside
Bakharakot jail in Darjeeling district. These include several leaders of
exiled Bhutanese political and human rights organizations. Reports
indicate that medical supplies have been given to three members of the
group who had fallen ill.
The nine detainees are:
1. Mr DNS Dhakal, General Secretary of Bhutan National Democratic Party
(BNDP) (REPORTED ILL WITH DIFFERENT AILMENTS)
2. Mr Vishwanath Chhetri, President of Students Union of Bhutan (SUB)
(REPORTED ILL WITH
3. Hari Adhikari, BNDP (REPORTED ILL WITH DIFFERENT AILMENTS)
4. Ganbi Poudyal, SUB
5. Tal Man Rana
6. Mr S B Subba, Acting Chairman of Human Rights Organization of Bhutan
(HUROB)
7. Kishore Rai HUROB
8. Khageshware Mishra
9. Kumar Subedi
101 Bhutanese refugees who were detained in the Indian state of West Bengal
after staging demonstrations there have been released at the border of
India and Nepal. They have returned to the refugee camps inside India
after signing bond letters that they would not violate the law and order in
India.
Refugees in the Nepalese camps have staged a 12-hour hunger strike in
support of the detainees.
Human rights lawyers are reported to have not accessed the detainees,
possibly because they were turned back or because the communication between
the demonstrators has been poor.
The refugees entered India from Nepal at the beginning of January with the
intention of demonstrating on the Indian side of the India/Bhutan border.
They were arrested in and near Jaighon, on the border of India and Bhutan.
India has implemented IPC (Indian Penal Code) 144, which prohibits public
gatherings, presumably as an attempt to head off the demonstrations.
On January 10, delegation of the Bhutanese Coalition for the Democratic
Movement (BCDM), arrested in India, were able to meet with former Indian
Prime Minister Chandra Shekha, Ms. Manpa Banerjee, Member of Parliament,
and the President of the West Bengal Youth Conference.
The refugees, totalling about 1/6 of the 600,000 people populating Bhutan,
were forced to leave the country in the early 1990's after a "One Nation/
One People" policy effectively rendered them stateless. The international
community has been thus far ineffective in resolving their plight. Bhutan
has the largest percentage of its people living as refugees in the world.
The government of India had initially responded to the Bhutanese refugees'
appeal by claiming theirs was a problem between Nepal and Bhutan. Nepal
has since returned the sentiment, saying the Bhutanese refugees who left
Nepal to demonstrate in India are now the concern of Bhutan and India.
**********************************************************************
From: Rajesh Shrestha <rshresth@husc.harvard.edu>
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 1996 13:41:29 -0500 (EST)
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Planning trek to Nepal
Cross-posted from SCN:
---------------------
Sarah,
Everyone has offered some good advice and some goofy stuff too. The
bottom line is that you need to decide what type of trip you want and
how adventurous you want to be. There are good outfitters and agents in
Nepal and the U.S. Advantages and disadvatages.
For my Two cents worth: Nepal is a undeveloped country and can be
pretty gnarly for the first timer and unless you really want to tough it
out you might want to go with a pro to to one of the classic areas like
the Annapurnas or Everest. There is no doubt that you'll get a rich
experience in Dolpo or Kanchenjunga or less traveled areas but you need
to be ready for a hard trek and some adventure. By the way. You cannot
go to many places as a solo trekker unless you plan on doing a camping
trek in which case you'll need a "agent" or guide like Frank's friend
Sonam.
Having run many commercial trips and personal climbing expeditions to
Nepal I know that people get a the best first time experience with a
SMALL group commercial trip that is run and organized by a good U.S.
company. Beware of huge companies like Wilderness travel or Mountain
Travel. They run cattle drives not personal, cultural trips.
See my Home page for more info: http://animas.frontier.net/~mtnguide.
Clay Patton
**********************************************************************
Date: Wed, 17 Jan 1996 14:05:11 +0000 (GMT)
From: strawn <chris.strawn@queen-elizabeth-house.oxford.ac.uk>
Subject: Bhutanese demonstrations-update 17 January 1996 (fwd)
FROM Jesuit Refugee Service Asia/Pacific
DATE 17 January 1996
REGARDING Bhutanese demonstrations-update 17 January 1996
and background fact sheet
150 Bhutanese refugees have crossed into India on a peace march, intending
to march on until they reach Thimphu, the capital city of Bhutan, where
they intend to appeal directly to the Bhutanese king for a resolutoin.
The marchers travelled from refugee camps in Nepal to the Indian border,
which they reached last night. This morning they began to cross into
India, but they were met by Indian security forces and a barricade over the
bridge which serves as the border, and told they could not continue. Sobre
(Support Organization of Bhutanese Refugees), an Indian-based support
group, intervened, asking security forces for a legal justification for
blocking the marchers. They also met with the district magistrate of
Darjeeling. When the police failed to produce a legal justification for
the barricade, saying they were merely following instructions, Sobre
threatened to remove the barricade themselves from the Indian side.
At approximately 4pm the Indian security forces removed the barricade and
allowed the marchers through. Supporters of the marchers were not allowed
to pass, however.
Inside of India several other checkpoints await, and any of them may stop
the marchers. At last report, the 150 had been stopped again, and told
that they have violated IPC 144 (Indian Penal Code 144). This law was put
in force in anticipation of the marchers, and prohibits public gatherings.
The marchers were told they will be brought to court. It is unknown
whether they have been detained, however.
If the peace marchers reach their destination of Thimphu, in Bhutan, they
plan to appeal directly to the Bhutanese king to resolve the situation of
the Bhutanese refugees. Observers are concerned that this group is willing
to have their own blood shed if that is required to raise awareness. They
have decalared they will stage a hunger strike if stopped before they reach
their desination.
The mood among Bhutanese refugees in camps in Nepal is said to be hopeful.
They hope the demonstrations will continue to raise awareness to their
plight, which is in its six year with little sign of a pending resolution.
The refugees, totalling about 1/6 of the 600,000 people populating Bhutan,
were forced to leave the country in the early 1990's after a "One Nation/
One People" policy effectively rendered them stateless. The international
community has been thus far ineffective in resolving their plight. Bhutan
has the largest percentage of its people living as refugees in the world.
BHUTAN AND ITS REFUGEES
AN INFORMATION SHEET
Bhutan
Bhutan is a tiny mountain kingdom perched on the eastern Himalayas with an
area of approximately 47,000 sq. km. Landlocked, the country is bordered by
the Tibet autonomous region of China to the north and by India to the
south, east and west. The kingdom has a population of about 600,000.
Thimphu, the capital city, has only two residential embassies, those of
India and Bangladesh, though the kingdom has established diplomatic
relations with a number of countries. As Bhutan enjoys no diplomatic
relations with its northern neighbour, all the diplomatic, trade, cultural
and economic transactions are conducted with the southern neighbour, India.
Bhutan is one of the world's least developed countries and has an agrarian
economy, relying heavily on overseas aid. The bulk of its external aid,
about 75 - 80%, comes from India, both in cash and in kind.
Ethnic Diversity
The Drukpas, or Ngalongs of Tibetan Mongoloid origin, inhabit the
north-west part of the country. They speak Dzongkha, an offshoot of
Tibetan, and they form about 16 - 20% of the population. The king and the
bulk of the ruling oligarchy belong to this community. Sharchhops of
Indo-Burmese stock predominate in the eastern region and constitute about
30 - 35% of the population. they speak Sharchhopkha, a language similar to
the one spoken by the people of Arunachal Pradesh state of India. Nepali
speaking people of Indo-Aryan origin live in southern Bhutan and form about
50 - 55% of the population. While the Drukpas and the Sharchhops practice
Himalayan Lamaist Buddhism, the southern Bhutanese follow Hinduism. Besides
the three above, there are other smaller ethnic groups and tribes such as
the Doyas, Brokpas, Adhivashis, Tibetans, Khengs, etc.
Political & Human Rights
Bhutan is ruled under an absolute and hereditary monarchy established, with
British involvement, in 1907. The king is both head of state and head of
government. There is no written constitution or bill of rights. The
judiciary is not independent. There is no provision of defence by qualified
attorneys in Bhutan's courts. The National Assembly of Bhutan represents
the ruling feudal elements and does not represent the Bhutanese people.
Membership of the National Assembly is not based on universal adult
suffrage. The ministers are appointed by the king and remain in office at
the pleasure of the king. The government is not accountable to the people.
Political parties and activities are strictly banned in the kingdom. There
is no right to free speech and free expression. There is no free press.
There are no political rights. There is no right to form associations,
unions, or similar associations. There is no right to seek justice. There
are no social or cultural rights.
Ethnic Cleansing
The popular demand for political reform, human rights and democracy to
replace the current absolute monarchy began after the government controlled
by the Drukpas introduced a number of national policies in 1988 directed
against the southern Bhutanese, who were then recognised as forming a
majority group in the country. The Citizenship Act of 1985 implemented
through a national census in 1988 withdrew the right to nationality from a
large section of the southern population. Government legislation requiring
every citizen to wear the Drukpa dress, to adopt the Drukpa culture and to
learn the Drukpa language violated the social and cultural rights of
non-Drukpas. The Green Belt policy to be implemented on the southern border
with India had the design of forcibly taking over the ancestral lands of
the southern Bhutanese. When the people took to the streets against these
policies the government termed the movement "anti-national" and resorted to
military means including the mass forced evictions of southern Bhutanese.
Crackdown
People's resentment and anger finally exploded in the form of peaceful
protests and rallies between September and October 1990. The crackdown on
the pro-democracy supporters by police and army led to the flight of
several thousand Bhutanese citizens from the south to neighbouring India.
The crackdown involved arbitrary arrest and detention, torture,
extra-judicial killings, rape, plunder, confiscation of lands, properties
and citizenship documents, demolition of houses and forced evictions. The
exodus to Nepal began in early 1991 after the government of India failed to
provide needed humanitarian relief to the Bhutanese refugees seeking asylum
in India. The refugee population rose dramatically after the 70th session
of Bhutan's National Assembly held in October 1991 decided to throw out
from Bhutan everyone associated with or involved in the movement for human
rights and democracy, including all members of the families of those
involved.
Refugees
More than 100,000 Bhutanese refugees have been created. This is one sixth
of the total population of Bhutan who have been stripped of their
citizenship, exiled, and rendered stateless. 90% of these are housed in the
eight camps in eastern Nepal cared for by an number of National and
International Non Governmental Organisations under the auspices of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The other 10% of
refugees are fending for themselves without assistance outside of the camps
both in India and in Nepal.
Stalemate & Stagnation
Bilateral talks have been held between the governments of Nepal and Bhutan
to try to resolve the refugee issue. The six rounds of talk so far held
have resulted in nothing. UNHCR has not been party to these talks nor has
it been invited to take part. There is a reluctance on the part of Nepal to
internationalise the issue as yet. Bhutan is against any such
internationalising. India, the regional power and in control of Bhutan's
foreign and defence policy, says that the problem is not theirs and remains
aloof, despite the conveying of the Bhutanese refugees across its land to
Nepal. Meanwhile in the camps the hopes of the refugees, after five years
of stagnation, rot along with their bamboo and thatch shelters.
The View of One NGO
"Amnesty International believes that many people in the camps in Nepal have
been forced out of Bhutan as a result of measures taken by the Bhutanese
authorities. Amnesty International opposes the practice of forcible exile
when it is imposed as a formal measure on account of people's non-violent
expression of their political, religious or other conscientiously-held
beliefs or by reason of their ethnic origin, sex, colour or language. It
believes that many of those in the camps in Nepal have been forcibly
exiled from Bhutan on account of their ethnic origin or political beliefs."
[Amnesty International Report, 'Bhutan: Forcible Exile', August 1992].
Compiled in July 1995 by David Keith Townsend, S.J
Gil Carroll
jrsap@comnet2.ksc.net.th
24/1 Soi Aree 4 Phaholyothin Road 7 (South)
Bangkok 10400 Thailand
tel. 66-2-271-3611
**********************************************************************
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 1996 23:29:45 EST
To: The Nepal digest Editor <nepal-request@cs.niu.edu>
From: "Pramod K. Mishra" <pkm@acpub.duke.edu>
Subject: "No Bamboo, No Flute": Killing a Woman in the Womb
Dear Editor,
Just this morning, I heard on the BBC that the Indian government has
enacted a new law to protect the female fetus. From the news, it
appeared that the land of spiritualism and fate is turning into a modern
state, i.e., Indians (those who can afford such luxury) had renounced
the dictates of Brahma and taken control over their own fate. They were
aborting female fetuses by detecting early the gender of a fetus with
the help of a new technology called ultrasonic gender detection or
whatever. But the government wanted its populace to continue to rely
on fate. What an irony!
Even when the Hindus begin to take control of their fate, they screw
things. Now, who are these people who abort female fetuses? They are
not coolies, the ragamuffins, the homeless, the starving by whose image
many associte India. On the contrary, these parents are middle class,
educated (whatever that means) and professionals--engineers, doctors,
professors even, government employees--and they are not the country
cousins, as many elightened Indians would like to think and put the blame of
India's shameful beliefs and systems on the shoulders of the benighted
rustics and salvage the populace of Delhi, Calcutta, Bombay and such other
cities as progressive. And still these defenders of India's shame would
like to brag about and say, "India is changing." Sure, changing, but at
what speed and whither?
Now, it's not that this system of blessing a female fetus by aborting it
started only recently, although many knowledgeable Hindus would like
to cite their ancient shloka: "Yatra Nari Pujyate, Ramante tatra
Devata." In this case, they might argue that only the method of worship
is different: instead of offering flowers and incense at the funeral pyre
to deify a Sati on the bank of a holy river, they do it early, in the
mother's womb and at a sanitary clinic. That's what change means; and
that's how you change.
This system of murdering a female dates back centuries. First they
killed the widows and made them Sati (now many scholars who write essays
in the West would like to think that everything bad among the Hindus
started only after the British conquered India); then when Sati system
was outlawed, they took to killing a female infant immediately after its
birth. This is one of the reasons you can still find qite a dearth of
females among the Rajputs and consequently many of its men remain lifelong
bachelors--and not because they were gay or anything, but simply because
they just can't find women. You'd think that these men wouldn't take
dowry, but in their case there is nobody to give dowry.
And now after the Sati in the early centuries, female infanticide in the
19th and early twentieth century, Indians have come a long way. They
kicked out the British, framed a relatively enlightened Constitution,
particularly in comparison to many constitutions in the West, won several
wars, acquired nuclear power on their own; they have t.v., electricity,
scooters, the third largest technical manpower--and now ultrasonic sound
detection technology to detect the gender of the fetus. Surely, this is
one heck of a progress, one heck of a change, isn't it? And I'm sure
there are many who would applaud India's change and become defensive
about its follies.
This kind of shameful system doesn't exist even in Islam, which has been
much maligned for its cruel treatment of women, and where fornication and
adultery are punishable by death by throwing stone, where women are kept
behind the curtain and veil all their life--all these advocated by the
fundamentalists. But even in Islam, widows are married, evnen though a
man may have four wives. I haven't heard this killing of women outside
the violation of sexual transgression. I need enlightenment from our Hindu
brethren.
Why does this benighted system exist among the enlightened, the
spiritual, the cosmopolitanists Hindus and India, the land of holy
rivers, meditation, renunciation, and other-worldly quests? I can come up
with three reasons: dowry, caste, and honor.
All these three causes for the degradation of Hindu women and lifelong
bondage of many men intersect with one another. First ofor of
all, dowry. Arrange marriage, which is almost the exclusive form of
marriage in India reinforces dowry system and dowry system makes sure
that only arraged marraiges could benifit the parents, not least the
grooms. Even those marriages where the grooms and brides get to see each
other, talk to each other, like each other, the physically grown but
emotionally the kid of the family, the apple of his parents' eyes, dare
not prevent his family, relatives, and parents from asking for dowry. How
can his parents boast the high price of their son's worth? You see,
India is a land of hypocrisy: the law may propound fine and dandy ideal,
but in practice, even the law maker, particularly the defender of the
law, would demand cut-throat dowry for his son. (I don't talk about
Indian sadhus here; there will be time and occasion for that.)
Under these circumstances, in which you must save your honor by marrying
your daughter, sister within the caste through arranged marriage by the
time the girl reaches age, you must give dowry if you want a groom who
can take care of your daughter. If you don't have dowry, you are lost.
And if you don't get your "girl" married early, that is, maximally in
her early twenties, your honor is lost; you can't show your face to your
caste, because in the caste, everyone--fathers, mothers, brothers, the
candidates themselves--believes in honor. And caste honor is
everything. If you are rich, what use your prosperity if it doesn't bring
you honor? If you are educated, what use your knowledge, if it doesn't
bring honor--of caste and clan. And to earn honor, the single most
important step you can take is to give hefty dowry and buy a clanish,
highly educated, rich groom (The long welcoming line of groom seekers
and dowry givers at India's Union Civil Service Training Center has
only increased, "India Today" tells us.) To have honor, you must buy
honor, and dowry is indispensible for that.
If followed the path of caste, arranged marriage, dowry, and honor, then
your female child would bring honor; but if even a little deviation
occurs in any of these conditions, your whole family, nay, your several
generations are shamed, and the stigma persists for good. If you don't
give or take dowry, your honor is shaken; if you don't follow strictly
the codes of arranged marriage--that is, if the girl meets the boy or the
boy meets the girl, even sees one another, in many cases even under
parental supervision--your honor is compromised, your hope of accumulating
lifetime's impeccable prestige goes down the drain. How can you show your
face to yor caste, to your society?
Now, caste is the bottomline, the most dangerous violation. You may
violate the codes of dowry a little, the world won't end; you many
transgress the rules of arranged marriage, nothing more than scandoulous
rumors would sully your prestige. But if caste transgression is
committed in most parts of India (Bengal and a few other states have
evolved a different sets of values), the doomsday certainly arrives;
centuries of accumulated prestige gives way to generations of shame,
disgrace, and ignominy--and loss of identity.
Now, in this a son's transgressions, always considered temporary, the
whim of wild youth, liable to go away with the cooling down of the
outburst of adolescent harmones, don't bring shame; on the contrary, if
the violations are temporary, they may prove the prowess of the male
progeny--the Bhagirath of the family. A Biswamitra can be maharshi even
after the digressions with Menaka, but Ahilya, once transgresses the
code, has to be petrified, literally; Sita has to be rejected; Kunti has
to hide her ignominous maternity in silence. Well, all these are ancient
legends surrounding the vulnerability of female honor.
In modern India, and Hinduism, dowry and caste have added new dimensions
to this problem. A Hindu woman, as she is raised and valued, is a
worthless thing. Her sexual organs, considered shameful, can quickly
destroy generations of accumulated family honor in the eyes of the caste
and society. A Hindu female's sexual organs and potential desire in
their use keep her in lifelong bondage, impedes the development of her
personality--in acquiring mental, physical, emotional abilities--making her
worthless for her parents. She always possesses the potential to
destroy all the honor; she can't by convention take care of her parents;
and she can't salvage her ancesters across Bhavasagar after death. She
is useless in this world; she is useless after this world. On the
contrary, a baby son can be a Shrawan Kumar; he can be a Bhagiratha; and
if nothing works, he can be a Buddha, or one of the Pandavas. The best
a woman could be in this regard is Mohini endangering family honor;
Laxami, always ready to take flight, theefore unstable; Durga and Kali,
killers and bloodsuckers. Now, we don't know much about their parents
family or caste, do we? Therefore, like Rambha, Menaka, Urwashi,
cannot dishonor anybody; they can give only pleasure or kill demons.
But others who have--Saraswati, Kunti, Sita--shame their birth family.
Then why shouldn't parents avail themselves of this scientific miracle
of the detecting the gender of a female fetus and abort it in time to save
money in the form of beggary-inducing dowry; to protect caste purity in
the form of avoding castelessness (I remember a Brahman PhD in English
telling me once "I'd rather die as a Brahman than be anyone else").
So much for the parents. A woman can dishonor her husband as well, by
not liking him, by not bringing enough dowry. That's why, you see, bride
burning evne in cities like Delhi. Killing female fetus and bride
burning, taking place in big cities as well as towns in India, are parts
of the same picture. Why let the husband and his folks burn her, why
not, as parents, abort ourselves? For a divorced woman is worse than a
widow. A widow is widowed because of God's will, but a woman gets
divorced for her own fault and her own will, think the parents. She is
liable to bring worse shame because not only that she has known a man's
company and therefore would seek another; but she becomes tough,
defiant, bringing double dishonor and shame. So destroy her before she
assumes full human form and wears diapers or colorful, tempting saris, to
others than potential grooms, who are too shrewd and honor-bound,
dowry-tempted themselves to take such relations seriously.
But, somehow, the Indian government passes these laws to thwart the
schemes and ambitions of these Indian parents! First dowry laws and now
prohibition against gender detection in the womb! Either the Indian
government wants to show the world, like many Hindus, that they are
enlightened and progressive in matters concerning women; or it knows that
the dual system of morality, like dual economy, would, like the failure
of dowry laws, would take care of the problem and pacify the voters.
Otherwise, how can you expect such rotten people sending such fine
representives to the parliament? The old belief that "people get the
government they want" doesn't apply here. But then, one must remember the
spirit of India's freedom struggle that produced M.K. Gandhi, Nehru, and
Ambedkar; that, while Jim Crow reigned supreme in "the land of the free
and country of the brave" America, drafted Affirmative action policies
for the tribes and untouchable castes. Maybe they did all that to show
to the West, particularly the British, how progressive and enlightened
they were; but maybe not.
******************************************************
Date: January 16, 1996
To: "The Nepal Digest" <nepal@cs.niu.edu>
From: "W. Paul Carlson" <info@nepal.net>
Subject: FYI to Friends of Nepal
NEPAL USA
----- ---
SuperNova-Nepal Technologies Inc. SuperNova Technologies Inc.
Kathmandu, Nepal PO Box 791
White Plains
E-Mail: info@nepal.net New York 10602-0791, USA
Internet: http://www.nepal.net TELEPHONE: 914-686-1290
FAX: 914-686-1535
E-Mail: info@supernova.net
Internet: http://www.supernova.net
January 16, 1996
Subject: Internet Access, web presence, and solutions proposal for
organizations (business, NPO, NGO, government) and individual users
doing business in Nepal or with Nepal.
Dear Friends of Nepal:
SuperNova-Nepal Technologies is an Internet solution providing company.
Whether you're an individual user, a small business, or a corporation, we
offer a complete set of quality Internet services to satisfy your individual
or company needs at competative prices.
Please take a moment to look over the enclosed material. We'll be glad to
answer you may have about the Internet and the full range of services
SuperNova-Nepal Technologies has to offer.
Initial consultation with SuperNova-Nepal Technologies is always free.
We look forward to servicing your Internet requirements in 1996 and beyond.
Please find enclosed additional information about SuperNova-Nepal Internet
Services.
Wishing you a prosperous new year,
W. Paul Carlson
VP - Marketing and Sales
-----------------------
SuperNova-Nepal Technologies Inc.
=================================
An Internet solution providing company
Materials copyright(C) property of SuperNova and SuperNova-Nepal Technologies.
Information. How you obtain it and what you do with it will determine
the fate of your business.
As companies become more and more dependent on strategic information to
fuel their businesses, the Internet offers companies an alternative means
to access and share information on a global scale at a lower cost than
traditional methods. In fact, the internet is quickly becoming as common a
business tool as the telephone and fax.
Today, companies use the Internet to conduct daily business - from
advertising their products and services to keeping in touch with their
clients and suppliers. Companies using the Internet for electronic
commerce are providing their customers with a means to order and
purchase products on-line.
Increased marketshare, improved customer service, and a better
competitive awareness are just a few of the many benefits companies are
realizing using the Internet.
However, many companies need assistance getting started , sorting out
the opportunities the Internet offers, and implementing the appropriate
solution for their business.
SuperNova-Nepal Technologies provides the expertise required to help you plan
for the internet, gain access to the Internet, and establish the proper
Internet presence for your company.
Internet Access
---------------
SuperNova-Nepal Technologies provides full access to the Internet.
Internet Presence
-----------------
Your Web site, containing the information you want made available to
others, will be hosted on one of SuperNova-Nepal Technologies Servers connected
to the Internet in a production environment.
Internet Solutions
------------------
SuperNova-Nepal Technologies will help you select the right Internet solution
to support your business objectives. In addition, SuperNova-Nepal Technologies
can help you install the necessary hardware and software to expedite your
business on the Internet.
SuperNova-Nepal Technologies provides custom Web site services including
design, creation, and testing to give your company an informative and
appealing presence on the Internet. Graphical, video, and multimedia
services are available to further distinguish your company's presence.
On-going technical support allows your Web site to change with the marketplace.
The following is a sample of services offered by SuperNova-Nepal Technologies:
Personal Internet Access Services
=================================
SuperNova-Nepal Technologies Personal Internet Access Services provides the
individual user with simple and fast access to on-line applications such
as E-Mail, on-line transactions, World Wide Web (WWW), Internet news,
remote login to another computer (Telnet), and file transfer between
computers (FTP). This is the most cost effective means for most people
to gain access to the Internet.
Small Business Internet Presence Services
=========================================
SuperNova-Nepal Technologies Small Business Internet Presence Services
provides an affordable means for you to establish an Internet presence
allowing your customers to visit your Web site and view the latest brochure
describing your company's products, promotions, and services.
SuperNova-Nepal Technologies provides the media, you provide the information
content and messages.
Small Business/Corporate Internet Access and Presence Services
==============================================================
SuperNova-Nepal Technologies Small Business/Corporate Internet Access and
Presence Services provides the means for you to establish a Web site
presence on the Internet and distribute your company's information,
information your present customers require and information to reach new
customers.
SuperNova-Nepal Technologies provides the media, you provide the information
content and messages.
Your Web site will have your own company domain (e.g., http://www.XYZ.com)
with the Corporate Internet Access and Presence Services.
Your customers can now visit your Web site to view the latest about your
company's news, products, promotions, and events. They can also place
orders and make reservations. This service provides you with a userid to
gain access to the Internet, so as your product line changes, you can
easily update the information content on your Web site, thus providing the
latest information to your customers.
Additional Information
To find out more about the Internet services offered by SuperNova-Nepal
Technologies, please call at (914) 686-1290, send an E-Mail to info@nepal.net,
visit us at http://www.nepal.net
*******************************************************************************
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