Received: from mp.cs.niu.edu (mp.cs.niu.edu [131.156.1.2]) by library.wustl.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id XAA08828; Mon, 7 Sep 1998 23:42:02 -0500 (CDT) Received: by mp.cs.niu.edu id AA22165 (5.67b/IDA-1.5 for nepal-dist); Mon, 7 Sep 1998 20:30:03 -0500 Received: by mp.cs.niu.edu id AA22141 (5.67b/IDA-1.5 for nepal-list); Mon, 7 Sep 1998 20:30:01 -0500 Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1998 20:30:01 -0500 Message-Id: <199809080130.AA22141@mp.cs.niu.edu> Reply-To: The Nepal Digest <NEPAL@cs.niu.edu> From: The Editor <nepal-request@cs.niu.edu> Sender: "Rajpal J.P. Singh" <A10RJS1@cs.niu.edu> Subject: The Nepal Digest - Sept 8, 1998 (14 Ashwin 2055 BkSm) To: <NEPAL@cs.niu.edu> Content-Type: text Status: O X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 283
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The Nepal Digest Tue Sept 8, 1998: Bhadra 23 2055BS: Year7 Volume78 Issue2
Today's Topics (partial list):
Visa Lottery for Year 2000
Nepal News
Himal Magazine
Martin Chautari discussion schedule
Reconciliation on the Terai question
Khoj Khabar
Kathmandu Review of Books, 30 Aug. 98
Release of a Publication
******************************************************************************
* TND (The Nepal Digest) Editorial Board *
* -------------------------------------- *
* *
* The Nepal Digest: General Information tnd@nepal.org *
* Chief Editor: Rajpal JP Singh a10rjs1@mp.cs.niu.edu *
* (Open Position) *
* Editorial Columnist: Pramod K. Mishra pkm@acpub.duke.edu *
* Sports Correspondent: Avinaya Rana avinayar@touro.edu *
* Co-ordinating Director - Australia Chapter (TND Foundation) *
* Dr. Krishna B. Hamal HamalK@dist.gov.au *
* Co-ordinating Director - Canada Chapter (TND Foundation) *
* Anil Shrestha SHRESTHA@CROP.UOGUELPH.CA *
* SCN Correspondent: Open Position *
* *
* TND Archives: http://library.wustl.edu/~listmgr/tnd/ *
* TND Foundation: http://www.nepal.org tnd@nepal.org *
* WebSlingers: Pradeep Bista,Naresh Kattel,Robin Rajbhandari *
* Rabi Tripathi, Prakash Bista tnd@nepal.org *
* *
* +++++ Food For Thought +++++ *
* *
* "Heros are the ones who give a bit of themselves to the community" *
* "Democracy perishes among the silent crowd" -Sirdar_Khalifa *
* *
******************************************************************************
******************************************************************
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1998 12:14:42 +0100
From: Barbara Bonnema <barbara@ctsv.com>
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: translation
Hi, my name is Barbara Bonnema. I work for Corporate Translation
Services in Vancouver, WA. We are currently looking for somebody who can
help us translate some material into Nepalese. Is this something you
could possibly help us out with, or do you know someone who might?
Please contact me at
barbara@ctsv.com, or call 1-800-208-2620, ext. 108.
Our client is waiting to hear from us, so if you can, please let me know
as soon as possible.
Thank you very much!
Barbara Bonnema
******************************************************************************
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 1998
To: The Nepal Digest
Subject: Visa Lottery for Year 2000
US announces visa lottery for 2,000
The United States has opened diversity visa lottery for the year 2,000 under the section 203 (c) of the
Immigration Act of 1990 which makes available 55,000 permanent (immigrant) resident visas each year by
random selection through a lottery. The DV-2000 registration will be held from October 1,1998
through-October 31, according to a USIS press release. The entrant must have either a high school education
or its equivalent or within the past five years have two years of work experience in an occupation that requires
at least two years of training, the press release says.
Persons born in high admission countries are not eligible for the programme, it says. The high admission
countries include China, India the Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, Poland, UK and dependent territories,
Canda, Mexico, Haiti, Jamaica, El Salvador, Colombia, and Dominican Republic.
The interested persons should send a application to National Visa Program along with a recent passport size
photograph. The addresses is DV-2000 Program, National Visa Centre, Portsmouth, NH; ZIP code 00210,
USA.
************************************************************************
Date: 28 Aug 1998
To: The Nepal Digest
Subject: Nepal News
Humanism and Jai Prithvi Bahadur Singh
By Dr Padma B Singh
It has been only a few decades, a positive trend has emerged to accord due
honour to the heroes and builders of the nation obscured from the annals of
history. Jai Prithvi Bahadur Singh is one of them. Those who have heard of Jai
Prithvi, know him as an advocate of world peace and brotherhood, a preacher and
thinker of humanism more than a ruler of a princely state and son-in-law of the then
Prime Minister Chandra Shumshere Rana. Jai Prithvi Bahadur Singh was born on
August 21, 1877 in Bajhang Chainpur as the eldest son of Raja Bikram Bahadur
Singh. His life span of 63 years can be viewed in three distinct phases: first as
Bajhangi Raja, second as the influential member of Rana Bharadari Sabha, and
third as a humanist.
Jai Prithvi Bahadur Singh became the ruler of Bajhang at the age of 12 (that is why
he is popularly known in Bajhang as Bala Raja) as the then Prime Minister Bir
Shumsher compelled his father to abdicate in favour of Jai Prithvi due to the rift
between Bikram Bahadur Singh and Bir Shumshere. Jai Prithvi obtained education
in Kathmandu and Prayag India. He returned to Bajhang in 1898 after his
education and marriage and initiated various reforms. First he established a school
named Satyavadi school, an iron industry was established, a dispensary -" Khaga
dispensary" was established with doctors from Calcutta medical college on
deputation. In 1910, he initiated land reform programme and land registration for
general public was started. He initiated the construction of mule trails from Bajhang
Bithad to Julaghat and Dashey Phadely to Tanakpur. It is because of his initiation
in road construction, His Majestys government has named the road form
Dadeldhura to Bajhang as Jai Prithvi Marg,
Jai Prithvi was very close to the power centres during Rana rule due to his
relationship with the Rana family. Between 1907-13 he was chief of the court
(Bharadari Sabha), the position usually held by the ruling Rana family members. He
could take stand in his opinion even if it differed with that of his father- in- law
Chandra Shumshere. He served as Consular General in Calcutta from 1902 -1905
and returned to Kathmandu with a hand press to meet the shortage of text books
in Nepali language. Jai Prithvi was the founder of Gorkhapatra. He wrote several
books in Nepali language to meet the shortage of text books notably Prakrit
Vyakarna and Shikshya Darpan.. In 1907 Jai Prithvi wrote -history of Japan. This
book describes how the sovereign emperor (Makado) were kept in virtual
imprisonment and rendered powerless by the powerful family autocratic rule of
Shoguns. The agitation foreign educated youths had overthrown the Shogun rule.
When Chandra Sumshere read the book he felt threatened and implied that the
book was an indication of conspiracy against Rana family rule which corresponded
to Shogun family rule. Then onwards the gulf of rift between Jai Prithvi and
Chandra Shumshere started to enlarge over time resulting into self exile of Jai
Prithvi to India where he found fertile ground to think and envision the philosophy
of humanism.
In 1916 because of his growing dissatisfaction with the Rana rule and his empathy
with the poverty striken people, he handed over his title of Bajhangi Raja to his
father and went to
Nainital where he lived for eight years and prepared manuscript of three volumes
of Philosophy of Humanism and then he migrated to Bangalore in 1924 where he
settled rest of his life.
The devastation and suffering of great war had impinged the heart and mind of Jai
Prithvi. He was looking for a practical way that could restore communal harmony,
good will and brotherhood. He proposed humanism as the solace to those who
lived in a period of what has been labelled as the "lost generation."
Jai Prithvi held the view that humanism is a trait whereby man has become man out
of the animal and has every prospect before him becoming something higher than
what he has at present. Whether man or animal, the chief desire of both is to live as
comfort and happily and as long as possible which Jai Prithvi calls the law of
self-preservation. Jai Prithvi contends that there are two ways of observing the law
of self-preservation. One is by force, aggression and brutality; the other is by unity,
cooperation and order. The former methods are relegated to the lower forms of
life like animals, while the later methods are employed by man as distinct from
other sentient being. Man being endowed with the exclusive faculty of reason and
deliberation, adapts himself to a higher principle of life which he has termed the
principle of deliberative action. This is with this deliberative action man can rise to
the level of divinity or fall to the level of lower animals. In practising humanism, Jai
Prithvi goes on to say " put head together to draw boundary line between the
humanistic and animalistic way of life, and weigh and examine every thought, word,
deed, accepting those which are humanistic and rejecting those which are
animalistic". For this man needs to correct and elevate his deliberative capacity,
second, in view of his enhanced deliberation he has to make the proper use of
physical means which can ultimately lead to extinction, and finally, he has to adopt
only such things that encourage growth and get rid of things or passions hindering
the progress of mankind.
In advocating his idea of humanism, Jai Prithvi Bahadur Singh opened a humanistic
club with its headquarters in Bangalore India. It was from there three volumes on
humanism authored by him were published and the Humanist magazine and the
book - flag of peace (Shanti Ko Jhanda) were also published. Between 1929 to
1936 he travelled to various parts of the world on his mission of humanism. He
gave series of speeches on humanism in Geneva, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Hungary,
Belgrade, Bucharest, Warsaw, Paris, London, Chicago etc and emphasized the
need for brotherhood and good will among the persons of all caste, creed, religion
and sects. He is the first Nepali to travel so widely across continents. Jai Prithvi
passed away on Oct 15, 1940 in Bangalore, India. The tenets of Jai Prithvis
humanism can be summed as follows:
* Instead of entering into unhealthy competition and dogmatic contradictions
human behaviour should be directed towards a path of reconciliation so that
security, privileges an prosperity can be ensured through mutual understanding.
* If the doctrine of self-security is based on humanistic ground, the path leading to
peaceful society will open up automatically.
* Whatever is done to destroy civilization, it is the symbol of animalistic instinct.
* Humanism is that principle which all human beings should observe, being distinct
from animal, as a duty not as a religion.
************************************************************************
From: himalmag@mos.com.np
To: "Himal information" <himalmag@mos.com.np>
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 14:48:58 +0000
Subject: August Issue Of Himal Magazine
Dear readers,
In rural flight begins urban blight. That's the cover theme of Himal
(South Asian magazine) for August. With South Asia's cities struggling
to cope up with the unprecedented influx of jobless villagers, our
writers bring to you the trials and tribulations of urban life, and
most importantly, some pragmatic ways to quell the chaos. And since
any look at urban South Asia has got to begin from its biggest urban
icon, Bombay provides the classic case study material. While the lead
piece by Delhi-journalist Patralekha Chatterjee describes Bombay's
civic nightmare and the solution in community self-help, a moving
personalised feature by writer Suketu Mehta captures the undercurrents
of life in India's "biggest, fastest, richest" megapolis. Bombay may
be throbbing with communal hatred, but the hands that stretch out from
trains to take in the late passenger show that there's compassion as
well.
Success stories in urban management may be a rarity for the
Subcontinent, but they do exist. The Karachi township of Orangi, for
example. Once typical of the desolation of many Third World
shanty-towns, Orangi is today a "development miracle", according to
writer Tarik Ali Khan in another cover piece titled "Sufism and the
art of urban healing". The article and the interview that follows
brings you Akhtar Hameed Khan upclose, the man who made it all
possible, but who says poignantly, "I should never have left Patna."
But sentimentality is the last thing you would find in the concluding
cover piece by MIT scientist M.V. Ramana who presents a
not-so-hypothetical scenario of Bombay being nuked. This doomsday
piece is an excerpt from a report to be published by the
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. Now to
our regular columns. In Briefs, we have radio personality Mark
Tully's account of crossing Bangladesh's newest engineering marvel,
the Bangabandhu Bridge over the Jamuna; extracts of a Deccan Herald
interview with Kashmiri leader Sabir Shah; and, among others, BBC's
Subir Bhaumik in Thimphu reporting on the developments following King
Jigme Singye Wangchuk's reform proposals.
July was also the month when South Asia lost two of its remarkable
visionaries in Nikhil Chakravarty and Mahbub ul Haq. As Himal salutes
their contributions, we carry a fitting tribute by commentator and
former Pakistani senator Javed Jabbar. The Opinion section has a piece
comparing the English and vernacular press in India and Pakistan.
Lahore journalist Khaled Ahmed suggests how Indo-Pak barriers can be
broken down by tackling the media. Pakistan's Urdu press, he says,
would be forced to be more sober, responsible and amiable if it were
to find readership in India, and likewise if India's English press
were to be read in Pakistan. In the other pages, you'll find a
passionate lament on the decline of volunteerism in the
non-governmental sector by Bunker Roy; and the need to settle the
rehabilitation matter first before the earth mover lifts its claws for
the big dam, by Amit Mitra. And to keep you further occupied till
September, we have two book reviews (one on Mustaq Gazdar's work on
Pakistani films and the other on Jamila Verghese's Her Gold and Her
Body), a feature on an alternative bookshop in Goa, besides Mediafile
and the ever-irreverent Abominably Yours. As we are fond of saying,
the choice is yours, you can either laze around, or read Himal.
******************************************************************
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 98 22:45:24 EST
From: "Paramendra Bhagat" <Paramendra_Bhagat@smtpgtwy.berea.edu>
Subject: Replies to Rayamajhi,Singh,Kattel,Wilkinson,Bhandari,Belbase
My response to Thirendra Rayamajhi, The Editor, Giri Raj Kattel, Constance
Wilkinson, Prakash Bhandari, and Eknath Belbase in brackets ().
Thirendra Rayamajhi 7 Aug 1998 <thiren@cegt201.bradley.edu>
Dragging critical issues like race into politics doesnot solve the problem,
rather it escalates it. Take a look - A political party with race and
sectarian values is an entity within the race only. We need to come up with
solutions regarding the present and it's implication for the future.
Presently, Nepal needs more of education and food. The last thing Nepal
needs right now is to be polarized into segregate islands.
(On the contrary, racism has to be subjected to full-blown discussions.
Political action is the cure to the social disease that racism is. You have to
expose it. Being hush-hush about it only festers the wound. If you are implying
the Sadbhavana is a party that speaks for only one or the other group, you are
mistaken. It speaks for the 50% Teraiwasis and the 30% Janajatis. "Education and
food" is all good, but racism is too fundamentally present - like gravity - to
be ignored. Discussions on racism does not polarize the country. They try to
bring together a country that is already polarized along lines of racist
hatred.)
The Editor's Desk RJ Singh August 14, 1998
Much has been said about "Nepal/India" lately. Perhaps much more than one
would want to digest as some of our readers have noted, and to acknowledge,
understandibly so.........If you, the readers feel that we ought to
terminate the "India/Nepal" stuff, be it so.....
(The beauty of TND is it is an unedited message board. Its freewheeling
discussions are its character. Any attempts at censorship, for whatever reason,
would take away from TND its fudnamental identity. Let its readers decide, by
writing or not writing, as to how long they wish to continue with this or that
topic. TND should stay as it is.)
Giri Raj Kattel 14 Aug 1998 <giri.kattel@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
Recently, I have found that TND is losing its quality drastically. The main
reason is, publishing unhealthy and destructive issues to our nationality.
I have a request that if any one who raises the issues like "Nepal should be
under India" again, should be deleted from the TND mailing list. Otherwise,
I will no longer be a reader of TND.
(When the Mandal wave created by VP Singh hit India and the backward castes
became assertive and started getting into seats of power in one state after the
other and HD Deve Gowda, the first "backward" to become Prime Minister of India
was "enthroned" in Delhi, a lot of upper middle class high caste Indians left
the country to settle overseas. The social engineering upset their personal
equilibria. I wonder if Kattel is similarly upset. If to discuss racism as
directed against the Teraiwasis is anti-national, I wonder if the nationalism
that Kattel subscribes to does not exclude the Teraiwasis in the first place.)
Constance Wilkinson 14 Aug 1998 <dawa@cape.com>
I applaud the work of the writer who presented ten reasons that India should
join Nepal. Frankly, I think that China should join Nepal, too.
(Why not, as for your sarcasm.)
Prakash Bhandari 10 Aug 1998 <Prakash.Bhandari@cexp.com>
Sadbhabana hasn't done a good job in separating itself from being more for
India than for Nepal.
(To be for the Teraiwasis is seen by the likes of Bhandari to be for India. In
the minds of the Bhandaris the Indians and the Teraiwasis are one and the same
group.)
Man, you are really paranoid......I think you are too absorbed in this
subject about racism to talk objectively. You are fantasizing about this
whole Negro thing. Look, you even invented the terminology......That
(racism) comparison is invalid because lot of Nepalis who speak Nepali are
of Indo-European origin. Mongloid-Nepalis don't control the government
machinery of Nepal, Indo-European Nepalis do. Actually, you are the same
race as me as lot of Nepali speaking Nepalis. So, there is not even a
question of racism. If anyone should raise a question of racism, then the
Mongloid-Nepalis should.
(AIDS in Nepal is not a different disease from AIDS in the US. Cancer in Nepal
is not different from cancer in the US. Infact the Nepalese doctors who treat
cancer derive their knowledge from their basically western training. AIDS and
cancer are biological diseases. Racism is a sociological disease. Hence my
regular comparison of the Teraiwasis to the African-Americans in the US. As for
the genetics you talk, to me racism is not a debate in biology. It is a debate
in sociology. So don't even go into that Mongol-Aryan talk. I agree with your
last point : yes, the SETAMAGURALI need to wake up.)
I am beginning to think that you think everyone who disagrees with your
view point is a racist. There is nothing wrong with stopping the influx
of foreigners into your country. Why can't we make the law so that
they can visit but they can't live and work. What's wrong with that?
That can still be done while keeping the cultural ties intact. I still
think the Nepal-India border should be better regulated. May be it
shouldn't be closed (as in completely and fully closed - you all know
what I mean) however, there has to be a better mechanism in place.
(To you a Teraiwasi is an alien. As for the work permit laws, the Nepalese
government has always been free to do what you suggest, but has stuck with the
status quo as it is in the best interests of the Nepalese people. The Nepal-
India open border in Terai's lifestyle. It will stay that way.)
I feel that Sadhbhabana Party seems to be more Pro-Indian than the Indians
themselves. May be they are trying for us to not distrust India too much
(giving them benefit of doubt). (I realize that you don't agree with
Sadbhabana). However, they are not doing a very good job in convincing the
Nepali speaking populace about that. This brings discomfort to most Nepalis
(at least the Nepali speaking ones). Actually, the cultural proximity of
Teraiwaasis to Indian peoples in Indian States of Bihar and UP could be the
bridge to India and Nepal in the future once we have a fuller sense of
ourselves as a country(Mr. Bhagat, I mean that in a good way).
(Of course you buy the Nepalese media's bias against the Sadbhavana. You
realize wrong. I agree with the Sadbhavana completely. My point has been it
should expand its manifesto and become a party with branches in all 75
districts.)
Ethnic Politics has been one of the most tragic events of the '90s. Bosnia,
Rwanda, Congo and now Kosovo has consumed closed to a million lives this
decade. The only people who benifitted from those tragedies were a selected
few politicians. Nepal hopefully, will not go in that direction. However,
for that There needs to be a common goal of 'All Nepalis', no matter what
language they speak, what they look like, And which part of the country they
come from. Whatever, is the best for all Nepalis will be the best for Nepal
too. Once we start thinking about 'Greater Mithila ' or 'Greater Nepal'
then we are inviting disaster.
(The way to avoid ethnic tensions is to cure racism, politically and legally.
But people like you who grow suspicious every time the issue is discussed are
not the best hope.)
Noone likes losing identity, not me, not you. That is the essence of
our being. Nepal should never be a one language, one culture country,
and I don't think will ever be. However, I believe, most of the Nepali
fear arises of possibility of being overwhelmed by the current influx
of Indians to Nepal. I feel that if we really want to address the issue
of Terai we also need to deal with that issue in conjunction with that.
Once we do that I think the problem becomes a whole lot simpler.
(Nepal is a one language, one religion country as it is. Therein lies the
problem.)
All things said and done, ultimately, the well being of all the people
should be the goal of a nation. Just like you said, prosperous South
Asia, where all the people can live in harmony and peace should be the
ultimate goal. May be later political borders won't mean anything.
Europe is close to that ideal. However, South Asian countries are way
behind and may annihilate themselves before they reach there. With
corrupt politics of the South Asian countries, and the pettyness,
paranoia, and compulsion to dominate everything of Indian policy makers,
that process hasn't even begun. At this stage, believe me, I am not
eager for that to happen. "
(An economic union makes even more sense for South Asia, which holds 40% of the
world's poor, than for Europe, which is one of the three richest regions on the
planet anyway. A South Asian economic union is for you if your fear Indian
hegemony. It will be a superior arrangement to SAARC.)
Eknath Belbase 11 Aug 1998 <eknath@ad-co.com>
......the myriad of hazards of "free trade". The first problem is that there
are dozens of varieties of free trade - trade in labor, capital, trade in
particular types of products. Rarely does free trade mean complete and total
free movement of capital, labor and all products. Free trade agreements are
negotiated over many months and it is quite possible that larger countries,
or larger companies, or more powerful interests will come to dominate the
terms of such an agreement so that they are in their favor.
(That is why there needs to be a national and regional consensus for free trade
so that the region is strong at the bargaining table with the "larger countries,
or larger companies, or more powerful interests.")
Your statement that it is "basic economics" is an outright lie. It is an
ongoing debate within the economics (and broader) academic literature.
(The law of comparative advantages.)
I've read about 15 books on the question of liberalization/free trade and
happen to be working as an econometrician/ finance professional.
(I guess that explains your economic literacy in that you favor global free
trade.)
To prevent any misrepresentation- (A)I am in favor of more free trade than
less with some qualifications (B)I think the form it is taking in *Europe*
is "good for most" for a variety of reasons which may or may not apply to
South Asia.
(Good.)
the economic union idea with India - I don't really see how it would change
anything. In my opinion India and Nepal have more economic union now than
any set of countries approaching a free trade agreement will have anywhere
in the world. We have a currency peg to the Indian Rupee, our inflation rate
has over a 95% correlation with almost no lag with India's, and 80% of our
trade is with India. All Ocean trade goes through an Indian port. How could
it get worse?
(I am not for a bilateral economic union with India either. I am for a South
Asian economic union.)
A *SOUTH ASIAN* economic union could be better as we would diversify our
dependence to 4 countries rather than one
If your true concern was economic improvement for Nepal, why did you
choose 4 of the 30 poorest countries on the face of the earth? We have a
neighbor to the north you did not even mention. Could this omission in fact
demonstrate that your entire "economic" reasoning is actually motivated by
an underlying cultural bias?
(If China will come along, I am all for it. My stand for a South Asian economic
union is economic, not cultural.)
If we really want some action, though, we need the ability to auction our
hydropower-generated electricity to the highest bidder rather than having to
sell it to India each time. A one-buyer one-seller market where the one-
buyer can also produce the underlying commodity is NOT that good for the
seller(*)! THAT is basic economics. In fact, if your true underlying
motivation was economic, you should have said WORLD FREE TRADE is desirable
for Nepal. That would mean the ability to sell stuff to someone other than
India, which is pretty much the only country getting enough of our stuff to
be worth mentioning!
(Global free trade is a far superiour arrangement to regional free trade. We are
on the same wavelength.)
***************************************************************
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 09:52:56 +0545 (NPT)
To: NEPAL@cs.niu.edu
From: Martin Chautari <chautari@mos.com.np>
Subject: Martin Chautari discussion schedule
Please announce
Martin Chautari discussions in Kathmandu
1 September 1998
The Anthropology of Gender and Caste in Far-Western Nepal
Dr Mary Cameron, Auborn University, USA
8 September 1998
Poverty and the issue of livelihood (food) security
Dr Jagannath Adhikari
15 September 1998
Deconstructing nationalism
Bishnu Sapkota
22 September 1998
Are NGOs agents of imperialism?
An open discussion to be led by Krishna Murari Gautam et al
29 September 1998
No meeting due to Dasain holidays
*********
Martin Chautari weekly discussion series meets EVERY TUESDAY at 5:30 pm
at the premises of Martin Chautari (tel: 246065) in Thapathali, Kathmandu
(behind VS Niketan School's first building when going from Thapathali
towards Babarmahal - past the Maternity Hospital, turn left, turn right
after passing the NEFEJ office, NOT towards UMN and St. Xavier's
college; on electric pole you will see a sign for "Martin Chautari").
Discussions are held in Nepali or/and English (the latter when the main
speaker is a non-Nepali). This is an open forum and anyone interested
can participate.
*****************
Have you read the new issue of the Nepali language bimonthly Himal with
the cover story that examines "Democracy in Nepal"?
*************
Do you listen to Radio Sagarmatha (FM 102.4) between 7 - 9 am everyday?
Dabali, a weekly discussion program, goes on air on Wednesdays at
8:30am.Radio Sagarmatha will extend its broadcast hours (also in the
evening) soon.
***************************************************************
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 22:40:20 -0400 (EDT)
From: aiko <gs07aaj@panther.Gsu.EDU>
To: The Nepal Digest <NEPAL@cs.niu.edu>
Subject: Bol!: Response to Sex Crimes and Tourism (fwd)
Can we afford to ignore this, esp. in view of Nepal attempting to entice
foreign tourists?
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 01:21:38 +0530
From: sushma@mos.com.np
To: bol@mos.com.np
Subject: Bol!: Response to Sex Crimes and Tourism
From: Terence Hay-Edie, Ph.D Research Student (Cambridge, UK)
I have just read your e-mail on sex crimes against tourists in Nepal
and tried to visit the web site but with no success. Could you confirm
the address if you have the time?
I am conducting Ph.D research on World Heritage sites in this country
and have increasingly had contact with tourism related people as a
result. Tourism is a package of responsibilities as far as I see it,
and other forms of irresponsibility both by travel agents as well as
tourists should be publicised as you have done on the Web. You could
perhaps include other forms of malpractice such as violation of
cultural heritage in an expanded complaints page - or would this dilute
your aims?
In Sagarmatha recently, my Sherpa guide boasted of his sexual
adventures with foreign women - apparently wilfully. The same was the
case with one porter in Langtang in January. I found both graphic
accounts distasteful in their contrast to the mental image I had of
mountain cultures. Is this an inevitable aspect of tourism encounters
with distant "others"? How common are such consented acts?
As an aside, you may be interested in a presentation I attended at
the American Anthropological Association in Nov 1996 which
described how desire should seriously be considered in female
tourists' encounters while travelling. The researcher, an American
woman, conducted fieldwork in Delhi with the strategies used by Kashmiri
men to sell their masculinity as "real men" as opposed to a juvenile
Indian sexuality and feminised sexuality of Western men. In this
instance, the objective was often to sell carpets... however, there
exists an element of female agency in falling prey to particular
versions of the "other" presented by tour operators. This can never
excuse real sexual harassment, but it exists.
Appearance and conduct by tourists should also be examined in
a code of conduct. My guide in Khumbu was recently married and
seemed to have lost interest in his wife linked to his affair with a
Canadian woman who apparenly put pressure on him to have sex
with her. It made me wonder how such experiences do have knock-on
psychological effects. Perhaps he was lying, I don't know.
I am very sympathetic to your endeavour and hope not to antagonise
you with any of my remarks which I do not mean to be victim-blaming.
Thank you and I wish you well with your work,
Terence Hay-Edie
********************************************************************
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 98 16:31:17 EST
From: "Paramendra Bhagat" <Paramendra_Bhagat@smtpgtwy.berea.edu>
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu, Prakash.Bhandari@cexp.com
Subject: Reconciliation on the Terai question
My reply, as usual, in brackets ().
"Bhandari, Prakash" 8/24/98 6:28 PM<Prakash.Bhandari@cexp.com>
I have never said to be for Teraiwasis is to be for India. To be for India
is seen by people who are the likes of you to be for Teraiwasis. I
specifically said Tanakpur and Hindi are the two key points Sadhbhavana
shows(ed) they are more for India.
(Hindi is as much of an Indian language as Nepali. Over 10 million Indians speak
Nepali as their first language. Okay, Hindi is the predominant language in
Northern India. But then it is also the link language of the Teraiwasis in Nepal
who constitute half of the country's population.
On the Tanakpur issue what I know is the Sadbhavana party had the same stand
as the Nepali Congress and that the issue was ultimately resolved to Nepal's
satisfaction. But look where the Nepalese people have put the Congress President
Girija Prasad Koirala. He is the Prime Minister of the country.
I do not know enough of the details of the Tanakpur issue to make any
further comments as of now.)
I was saying that because you told me 'You look like Nepali speaking people
in Darjeeling'. Racism (at least in the US) is primarily based on the color
of the skin (which is biology). The color of the skin is a subject for
biology and the feeling of racism is subject for sociology. So, my question
to you is doesn't there need to be a biological difference first for
'racism' to occur? Can a black person be racist to another black person?
If so, how come no one raises an issue when they call each other niggers?
Or discrimination which occurs due to different shades of skin color can
also be racism, although the subjects under consideration are from the same
'race'? So, Indians who call Biharis, 'Biharis' with contempt are racists or
not? Or are they just discriminatory? There is a difference.
(For racism to occur, it seems, at least in Nepal's case, a difference in
cultural and geographical background seems to suffice! A Pahadwasi acting racist
towards a Teraiwasi is not the same as a black calling another black "nigger."
Those Indians who hold the Biharis in contempt are acting racist too, I would
say.)
Now, if you want to really use the term willy nilly, because then you can
give a dramatic twist to your rhetoric then I don't have anything to say.
Teraiwasis have been treated unfairly, there is no argument there. Sure,
political and legal steps need to be taken in order to include the
Teraiwasis in all aspect of Nepal's national life.
(Thanks for speaking the language of reconciliation. Once the Pahadwasi own up
to what you have owned up to, reconciliation can begin, political and legal
solutions to the imparity can be sought.)
A Teraiwasi is not an alien for me. But a Bihari is. I have been saying
that all along. That's why I was arguing for work permit system. If your
thinking is that the implementation of work permit system won't be fair just
like the citizenship hasn't been, then that is a implementation problem.
The concept still stands. If you think the work permit system is basically
designed to exclude Teraiwasis, I suggest you look at the US. Here everyone
has to prove their identity to gain employment. That will end the argument
that Darjeelinges are getting better treatment than Teraiwasis in their own
country.
(The BJP government in Delhi would be more than happy to implement the work
permit system, I would guess. L K Advani seems to want the same in the case of
the Bangladeshi immigrants in India. There are manyfold more Nepalis working in
India than there are Indians working in Nepal.
My problem with this work permit debate in Nepal is it is too often used to
justify the racism against the Teraiwasis. Look at how the poor Teraiwasi
vendors get treated out in the streets of Kathmandu.)
If you don't understand these sentences, the I don't know how else I can
explain. Actually, I am not against Biharis either. Why should I be?
India will take care of them, Nepali government needs to take care of
Nepali citizens. I am for Nepal and Nepalis. As far as Nepali government
doing keeping status quo in the interest of Nepali people, I don't buy that.
The government is just taking the easy way out.
(I disagree. You accuse the politicians now in power of incompetence. I accuse
them of that and institutional racism.)
I have said all along, I would have no problems with a Sadhvabana which
fights for all unpriviliged, and unrepresented Nepalis. As far as me
realizing wrong, I was for building a peaceful, prosperous and a vibrant
Nepal from the very beginning. It is not just the problem with Teraiwasis,
but all the poor people in Nepal, bahuns, chettris, gurungs magars, etc.
that have been oppressed in Nepal. Mismanagement, lack of accountability,
and incompetence percolates to all aspect of Nepali national character.
Yes, Nepal government hasn't been fair to Teraiwasis. But it hasn't been
fair to anybody. Democracy so far has only worked for a few politicians.
While saying that, I agree with you there has been/continues to be
discrimination against Terai in an institutional level.
(Like you I too see deficiencies in the Sadbhavana. For all practical reasons
the Sadbhavana continues to be a regional party and that has been its undoing.
It comes across as a single-issue party. Okay, the Teraiwasis and the Janajatis
have been discriminated against, but should you end up in power, what is the
kind of economic leadership will you provide? After all, more Nepalese suffer
from poverty than from racism anyway, the Teraiwasis and the Janajatis included.
As of now, if I were a Jumli or someone from Pokhara, I would not find a reason
to vote for the Sadbhavana even if I were a Pahadwasi like you who agrees with
its basic claims that the Teraiwasis have been wronged in the country's long
history.)
Why do you blame me? It is you who consider India your motherland, although
center of Maithili people is Janakpur. People like you who read between the
lines of everything I have said are not the best hope either. When I said
there is an constant Influx of Indians to Nepal, that's what I meant. I
didn't mean Teraiwasis coming to Kathmandu. Teraiwasis should come to
Kathmandu if they want to. It's the capital of their country. Now if that
is factually incorrect, i.e. if there is not an influx of Indians to Nepal
(and the people are just Nepalis from Terai), then I have indeed been
influenced by the media, then I stand corrected.
(That India being my motherland was plain rhetoric. My participation in the
discussions on Nepalese politics stands independent of the autobiiographical
details of my personal life. Yeah, my mother is Indian and I happened to have
been born in a hospital in Durbhanga in Bihar where a "mausi" (sani-ma) of mine
lives, but that is besides the point. I carry a citizenship card. That is the
only thing I need to claim my citizenship. My family history is a family
matter.)
I was raising the issues that I thought (and still do) were valid issues
that had to be dealt with by Sadhvabana if they wanted to be a truely
national party. However, the issues that Sadhbhavana campaigns for is Hindi
to be a national language. Maithili is spoken by Nepalis in Terai.
Maithili should be a national language, not Hindi. Sadhbhavana is getting
money(that's my speculation) from Indian govt so they have to campaign for
Hindi.
(Maithili is my mothertongue. It was the court language when the Mallas ruled in
Kathmandu. 30 million people speak Maithili worldwide. Its literature is richer
than that of Nepali. It deserves its due place in Nepal. But Hindi is the link
language of the entire Terai peoples.
As for the Sadbhavana getting money from India, believe me the Congress, the
UML, the ML and the RPPs are much richer parties than the Sadbhavana, especially
the Congress. I can tell you from my days with the Nepal Samajwadi Janata Dal we
often barely had enough money to even keep the office running. Paying the rent
was a big deal.)
If they raise citizenship issues, I agree with them. Economic issues I agree
with them. Recruiting Teraiwasis in the Army and police sure I would I
would agree with you.
But when Sadhbhabana says Hindi should be the national language, and taking
Indian side in the Tanakpur issue, then it forces me to be suspicious.
Wouldn't you be?
(Please refer to my points above.)
One of the solutions, I think will work is decentralization of the
government. Then, the local problems will be solved by local people. The
government in Kathmandu can look at the overall direction of the country and
let the local people spend their share of the money whereever they wish.
That will solve to some extent solve every region's problems. That would
work for Terai and that will work for the Mountains. As far as the language
is concerned, there is always a problem when a country doesn't speak the
same language. Why did the hispanics vote overwhelmingly to end the
bilingual education in California?
(I agree with you. We should have a federal form of government. Five states :
Eastern Terai, Western Terai, Eastern Hills, Western Hills, and the Kathmandu
Valley. The current arrangement of five "development regions" is a joke. The
language situation in Nepal is slightly more complicated in Nepal than it is in
California.)
Free trade in the region is a good goal. World-wide free trade is even
better. However, we need to keep trying to to do what we can do right now.
BTW, there was a piece of news in TKP about India levying additional taxes
in Vegetable Ghee exports to India which was against Nepal-India trade
treaty of 1996. That tells us how far we have to go as far as free trade
with India is concerned.
(Free trade. It does ask for a wide range of political skills to get a fair
bargain, both at the regional level and the global level. I agree with you.)
***************************************************************
From: "Bhandari, Prakash - Broomfield, CO" <Prakash.Bhandari@cexp.com>
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: RE: Reconciliation on the Terai question
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 16:51:07 -0600
> As of now, if I were a Jumli or someone from Pokhara, I would not find
> a reason
> to vote for the Sadbhavana even if I were a Pahadwasi like you who
> agrees with
> its basic claims that the Teraiwasis have been wronged in the
> country's long
> history.
[Bhandari, Prakash - Broomfield, CO]
Actually, once (if) Sadhbhavana has established itself as a
National Party where then I don't
think it will have the shortage of candidates the people will be
willing to vote for. You can have
a Jumli to fight the election from Jumla with a Sadbhavana
ticket. They will be campaigning for Janajati rights, or the
geographical discrimination they have been suffering. Then as the
country
becomes more aware of its own peoples, then you can have
Teraiwasis fighting for elections
in Jumla and vice versa.
> (That India being my motherland was plain rhetoric. My participation
> in the
> discussions on Nepalese politics stands independent of the
> autobiiographical
> details of my personal life. Yeah, my mother is Indian and I happened
> to have
> been born in a hospital in Durbhanga in Bihar where a "mausi"
> (sani-ma) of mine
> lives, but that is besides the point. I carry a citizenship card. That
> is the
> only thing I need to claim my citizenship. My family history is a
> family
> matter.)
[Bhandari, Prakash - Broomfield, CO]
Fair enough. Personally, I would like to have a country which
all of her citizens can be proud of. At such a time we can teach our
children about the intricasies of Newari festivals, and our children can
do PhDs in Maithili literature and art, and they can dance in the tune
of Tamang Selo. I suppose, we will start dreaming that after everyone
in the country gets to eat a full meal.
*******************************************************************
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 10:24:19 +0530
From: ajaya bhadra khanal <rashmi@mos.com.np>
To: NEPAL@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Khoj Khabar
I am Ajaya Bhadra Khanal, a journalist, working in Nepal. Currently I am
doing some research on Enron.
The possible entry of Enron Renewable Energy Corp for BOT of 10800 MW
Karnali Chisapani has resulted in some surprising stunts by politicians
in Nepal giving signs that there may be something sinister in all the
dealings.
As I have been following this issue and doing further research, I would
be grateful if you could kindly post these queries in TND on my behalf.
1. Does the MNCs pay commissions like the World Bank.
2. Why is Enron really interested in Karnali?
3. How is Enron using the Federal government officials for entry into
Nepal. Is it offering money to Nepali politicians?
Thanx for your help.
**********************************************************************
From: "Shiva Gautam" <sivahari@hotmail.com>
To: Nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Khoj khabar
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 21:07:19 PDT
Hello & Namaste
I would like to know if there are any Nepalese in Duluth, Minnesota, or
nearby, as I will be coming there very soon. If any one could share any
information about that place with me, it would be highly appreciated.
Thank you very much
Shiva Gautam
Christchurch
New Zealand
sivahari@hotmail.com
***********************************************************
Date: Tue, 01 Sep 98 09:22:09 EST
From: "Paramendra Bhagat" <Paramendra_Bhagat@smtpgtwy.berea.edu>
Message-Id: <9808019046.AA904666548@smtpgtwy.berea.edu>
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: The South and the West (Canada, Australia, US, Europe)
DECCAN HERALD
Tuesday, September 1, 1998
Indian scholars discriminated against in US, says top scientist
NEW DELHI, Aug 31 (UNI)
A noted biochemist of the country has sparked off a row in a leading
international scientific journal with claims that most
US-trained Indian scientists feel they were being discriminated against in the
West.
Dr G Padmanabhan, former director, Indian Insititute of Science, Bangalore,
wrote a letter in a recent issue of Science
stating that the general perception among Indian scientists in leading
institutions, most of whom are US- trained, is that they
are being discriminated against.
''Research papers sent to top international journals from India seem to be
reviewed with a bias. Even if I manage to publish
one of my papers in one of the best journals, it will seldom be quoted or have
an impact unless I have a US-Western pedigree
or connection with an inner circle,`` writes the scientist.
INHERENT DISBELIEF: He says there is an inherent disbelief in the West that good
research can be done in India.
''Even if I am invited to deliver a lecture at an international research
conference, I am made to feel like an outsider or am
aware that I have been invited to satisfy a condition that someone from a
developing country be included for the conference to
be eligible for funds from an international agency,`` he says.
Dr Padmanabhan claims that a feeling of alienation permeates segments of Indian
society that have anything to do with the
West, the United States in particular.
Although India has made giant strides in food production, space programme,
information systems and possesses a stable
economy, the West has always depicted India with bias and sarcasm. ''It has been
persistently represented by the United
States and the West as the home of poverty, filth, disease and backwardness,``
the scientist argues.
Under such circumstances the country`s nuclear tests in May this year created a
''tremendous euphoria`` among the people.
This is because India has been persistently portrayed in the West as having
negatives qualities. ''Given such a treatment, one
clutches at any victory that makes one feel like an entity to be counted. It can
win in cricket, chess match, or a beauty contest,
or even a nuclear blast,`` says Dr Padmanabhan.
CLAIMS REFUTED: However, Dr Padmanabhan`s remarks were pooh-poohed by another
Indian scientist working in
the United States in the subsequent issue of Science. Dr T Balakrishna Reddy of
the Centre for Molecular Genetics at the
Univeristy of California, says he fails to understand how the ''euphoria`` over
the nuclear tests could be related to the
western alienation and bias against Indian scientists.
WRONG POLICIES: He claims that the experiences undergone by Dr Padmanabhan were
not unique to only Indian
scientists but for anyone from a developing country.
The feeling of alienation and purposelessness among Indian scientists have
historical roots in the policies pursued by
post-Independent India. ''Instead of revamping the educational system to meet
India`s societal needs, successive
governments made few changes in the colonial legacy, mainly for political
reasons,`` Dr Reddy points out. The result is that
the kind of research undertaken by leading Indian universites and institutes
today has nothing to do with the immediate
societal, economic or scientific needs of India.
The brain drain from the country is a natural consequence of all this, says Dr
Reddy, who has done his Ph D from Jawaharlal
Nehru University, here.
The same issue also carried Dr Padmanabhan`s rejoinder stating that he has
received about 250 e- mails, mostly from Indians
in the United States in response to his letter, and about 95 per cent of them
agree with his analysis.
''India`s image in the West is in general unfairly negative and there is a
feeling of alienation and discrimination even among
scientists and professionals settled in the US,`` he contends.
He says that his letter seems to have touched off a sensitive chord among
intellectuals concerned about India, which needs to
be put to a positive use. ''May I suggest an international conference in the
country with non-resident and resident Indians...to
set an agenda for the 21st century,`` he appeals.
*************************************************************************
Date: Tue, 01 Sep 1998 19:22:55 +0530
From: Mary Des Chene <deschene@jhuvms.hcf.jhu.edu>
Subject: Kathmandu Review of Books, 30 Aug. 98
To: NEPAL@cs.niu.edu
Kathmandu Post Review of Books
Vol. 3, No. 9 (30 August 1998)
Issue Coordinator: Mary Des Chene
Contents:
Essay: CTBT Bogey: Red Herring of Nuclear Nationalism (Anand Patwardhan)
Reviews of:
1) Geographical Thought: A Contextual History of Ideas by R. D. Dikshit
(C.K. Lal)
2) We Sinful Women: Contemporary Urdu Feminist Poetry transl. and ed. by
Rukhsana Ahmad (Carla Petievich)
3) The Calcutta Chromosome by Amitav Ghosh (Kathryn Hansen)
******
NOTE: All issues of The Kathmandu Post Review of Books (from April 1996 on)
are being made available on-line on The SINHAS Web Pages. About one dozen
are already available, the rest will be uploaded shortly. They're currently
available issue by issue. A subject index will be added later. To access
the KPRB go to:
http://jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu/~deschene/sinhas/kprb.html
*********
CTBT Bogey: Red Herring of Nuclear Nationalism
Anand Patwardhan
In recent times one of the few issues to have united left and right,
secular and fundamentalist, is the understanding that India must refuse to
sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). As the CTBT appears to
favour those who have already amassed and tested their atomic devices (the
USA, UK, France, Russia and China) over newer aspirants of the nuclear club
( India, Pakistan, Israel, Iran, Iraq and other threshold nuclear powers),
anybody who argues in favour of its signing is branded as an American
stooge.
Perhaps some anti-imperialist credentials, whatever these are worth today,
are in order. For one thing, I must be one of a handful of Indian citizens
to have spent time in an American prison for the act of opposing America's
military policy.
In 1970 as a student in Boston, I became a part of the anti-Vietnam War
movement and was arrested for peacefully protesting the war. We blocked
traffic outside the gates of Raytheon Corporation known to be a
manufacturer of deadly anti-personnel weapons such as grenades filled with
plastic pellets that could not be detected by an X-ray machine.
In April 1971, during a peace march to Washington DC which culminated in
war veterans throwing their medals back at the Pentagon, I was part of a
200 strong group that linked arms and marched towards police barricades. We
were beaten, gassed, and finally arrested and charged with attempting to
"break police lines". As a non-white and a non-US citizen I was singled
out for special treatment, stripped, searched and abused. The authorities
noted my passport and visa number and threatened to send me back "where I
came from".
The camaraderie that formed between the protesters over the next few days
in custody was worth it all. I got to meet many anti-imperialist Americans.
One was Dave Dellinger, a long term pacifist who had been the prime accused
in the Chicago 8 Trial along with Abbie Hoffman and the Black Panther,
Bobby Seale. Another was a much loved author of child-care books, the
eighty year old Dr. Benjamin Spock. My sociology professor was amongst
those arrested. I graduated, spent a further six months working with
Mexican immigrant workers ( Cesar Chavez's United Farmworkers Union ) and
returned to India.
This was meant to be a brief preamble to my CTBT argument, but perhaps it
is just as well that I spelt out where I am coming from and why I cannot
divide the world into pro and anti-American, or pro and anti-Indian or
Pakistani. Today the counterparts of Vajpayee, Advani, Fernandes, and Abdul
Kalam are being felicitated in Pakistan while brave voices of peace and
dissent continue to speak out for sanity in both countries.
It is true that the CTBT is not fully satisfactory because the big powers
escaped the chance and the responsibility of declaring a time bound
schedule for total nuclear disarmament. But in that it says "Thus far and
no further" with regards to nuclear testing, the CTBT applies to all
nations equally. It could have been better than a mere test ban treaty, but
it is still a necessary but not sufficient first step. To reject it is to
reject a consensus that was arrived at with great difficulty at a time when
the nuclear clock is ticking.
There are plenty of nuclear hawks in America like Jesse Helms and other
lobbyists of the military-industrial complex who have always opposed
America's signing of the CTBT. Republican leader Newt Gingrich's support
for the Indian tests may have come from such an agenda. They would not only
like to see America resume testing, they would like to keep selling
American military and nuclear technology in the markets of the world.
Tragically India would emulate such "greatness". There was no more shameful
aftermath
of the Indian nuclear tests than an announcement by Defense Minister
Fernandes (it is useless to dwell on the fact that in 1974 this man was an
opponent of the Pokhran test ) that defense technology would now be
shared with private industry to create opportunities for nuclear exports!
CTBT then is not an American plot but a multi-lateral agreement signed by
all the countries approached other than India and Pakistan. And Pakistan
has long stated that if India signs, so will Pakistan. Indeed if India and
Pakistan do not sign, given that the treaty is dependent on full consensus
and not on a vote, the treaty will become null and void, fuelling another
international arms race. So Greenpeace, an organization that has long
fought against American, French and other nuclear weapons and tests
believes CTBT to be a necessary but not sufficient first step. The
Hibakusha (Japanese victims of the American atomic bombs) believe the same.
Hopefully no one in their right mind will accuse the Hibakusha of being
pro-American.
The BJP and the Hindutva brigade have used machismo and nuclear nationalism
as a passport to power. This is not forgivable, but it is consistent and
predictable. Their whole existence is predicated on recreating a hated
"other" and their self-esteem depends on delusions of greatness and a
rejection of the "effeminate" and the "debilitating".
What of the secular and Left forces? They have raised their voice against
weaponization but the fact is that if the Indian government had signed the
CTBT last year (before the BJP came to power) , Pakistan would have been
forced to follow suit and our region and the world would have been ten
tests safer. Unfortunately the Indian Left which could have influenced
Prime Minister Gujral to sign CTBT, did the opposite, perhaps because the
Left did not want to be left behind on the "nationalist" bandwagon but
primarily because nuclear weapons are seen as a tactical rather than
ethical issue. This preference of the "materialist" over the moral
overlooks the fact that most of us began to identify with the Left
precisely out of a moral conviction, to make the world more just, more
peaceful and more humane.
The Hibakusha have no such ambivalence. They know what the bomb does. They
know that nuclear weapons are not bargaining chips. You cannot say no to
other nations' nukes if you have your own.
America is the only nation in the world to have used weapons that no human
has the right to use. America continues to be the biggest weapons-monger in
the world, nuclear and otherwise. Yes the Americans have no right to
lecture us. But we should not need a lecture to know what every child
knows, indeed what Vajpayee knew when he was a child, what Fernandes knew
in his youth. Opposition to weapons of mass destruction cannot be a matter
of tactics. It is an ethical imperative without which we cannot but betray
the human race. Let us disarm unilaterally. Without waiting for America.
Without waiting for China and Pakistan. In the present atmosphere of
nuclear nationalism it will take courage to revive the spirit and language
of internationalism. Anti-nuclear people of the world unite! We have
nothing to lose but our bombs. And a world to gain.
How much cleaner the air already feels as we utter these words.
(Anand Patwardhan is a documentary filmmaker. This essay was written in
early July during his efforts to organize South Asia-wide protests on 6
August against a nuclearized sub-continent, while commemorating the victims
of America's atomic bombing of Hiroshima. In Kathmandu, Physicians for
Social Responsibility, Nepal took up his call).
*********
Geographical Thought: A Contextual History of Ideas
Author: R. D. Dikshit.
Publisher: Prentice Hall of India Private Limited, New Delhi, 1997.
Price: IRs. 175.
History of Geography
C K Lal
"Chunder Seekur Opedeea", Agent on the part of the "Rajah of
Nipal", who handed over the Treaty of "Sugaulee" to Ochterlony, Agent of
the Governor General of the East India Company, must have been a learned
man to have been entrusted with such an important task. However, he
evidently had not recognized the importance of either geography or history.
Geography would have told him to be precise about the location of Kali and
history would have warned him to be wary of a treaty drafted by the
stronger party to establish and perpetuate its hold over the weaker one.
Had he done that, King Mahendra's concession to the Indian Army could not
have been construed as submission and it would not have resulted in the
continued occupation of a part of Nepal by that army. A sound case to
ground our policy makers in geosophy. If some of them need to make a
beginning, Prof. R. D. Diksit's new book is an exceedingly well compiled
primer.
For the definition of geosophy, Dikshit turns to J. K. Wright who
regarded the subject to be "to geography what historiography is to history,
it deals with the nature and expression of geographical knowledge, both
past and present--with what Whittlesey called 'Man's sense of territorial
space'". The discipline also deals with "geographical ideas both true and
false held by all manner of people, accounting for human desires, motives
and prejudices". Extending this line of thought, W. Zelinsky demands that a
geographer must be involved as a diagnostician, forecaster, and an
architect who could present the blueprints for achievement of the preferred
future. One may not agree to this all-encompassing role for a geographer,
but a study of geographical ideas through the ages makes one appreciate the
strength behind this seemingly audacious argument.
More than the depth, it's the breadth of scholarship in this book
that is truly breath-taking. Even though billed as a textbook by the
publishers, it's an attempt by the author to appreciate the vastness of the
area of study undertaken by him. Consequently, what readers get of the
great geographical ideas is merely a taste; for their fill they'll have to
go back to the originals themselves. Diskhit leafs through history till the
18th century for geographical
ideas and decides to build upon the philosophical contributions of German
philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). Thereafter, his path demarcated by
chorology (space) on one side and, on the other, by chronology (history),
he takes readers on an exciting tour of ideas, deftly guiding them through
the maze of theories and the milestones in Physical Geography, Spatial
Analysis, Humanistic Geography, Political Economy of Geography, Regional
Analysis, Historical Explanations, Ecological Thoughts, Environmentalism,
Human Geography, Geography of Gender and Post-Modernism before bringing
them back to the holistic view of the subject propounded by old Greek
masters. The tour is a journey of discovery and Dikshit is a competent,
even if sometimes dull, guide for this exploration.
The book can perhaps be summed up in one sentence of the author,
"More recently, the emerging convergence between historical geographers and
social and economic historians and historical anthropologists on the one
hand, and between historical geographers and palaeobotanists, historical
climatologists, and archaeologists on the other, has been... a major source
of interdisciplinary integration, evidenced by the increasing
methodological convergence between historical geography and the rest of the
subject, as also general recognition given by geographers to the important
role played by historical specificity in the explanation and understanding
of problems of human geography". However, as you must realize, one needs to
read the whole book to take the impact of that one sentence.
The book sparkles with luminous quotes that throw an entirely new
light upon old ideas. For example, it puts Collingwood's claim that all
history is history of thought up against Marx's adage that all history is
history of class struggle and then pits them together against the view of
geographer Samuels that, "The history of mankind is ... always a geography
of man's search for roots. The first man is, as it were, the man who
invented a boundary to delimit his place, and human history is, therefore,
a history of boundary-making, maintaining and changing". Do you still
wonder why our Crown Prince Dipendra
chose geography as his field of study? In the realm of historical
geography, insists Harris, "There is no useful disciplinary line separating
present from past, space from time". Such a subject would be indispensable
to any one keen upon understanding human civilization.
Readers would be well advised not to rush through this book. An
academic work, it is meant to be studied, not read. The effort is rewarding
as one listens to the masters down the ages speaking through an interpreter
who clearly knows the language and is a fellow student of the subject.
Dikshit knows the road, has some idea about the destination that often
proves to be another beginning, and enjoys the journey along with the
readers. How often does one come across such efforts at humanizing
knowledge?
Professional geographers are not the only ones who stand to benefit
from this book. Perhaps it would be of equal use, if not more, to any
scholar engaged in interdisciplinary studies. The volume would have been
immensely more interesting had some thoughts of Eastern thinkers been
included in it. Then the relatively cursory overview treatment meted out to
Economic Geography annoys. Settlement Geography gets even less attention
and Planning Geography barely a mention. Although no book can be
comprehensive on any subject, one expected an introduction to these ideas
of far reaching implications in a venture as ambitious as compiling a
contextual history of ideas in geographical thought.
Lastly, remember that it's the work of an academician and a
specialist aimed at an audience mature enough for the force of sometimes
raw ideas. The language is no Archer, nor the flow of narrative that of
Michener. The book needs effort but the view from the peak, once reached,
is breathtaking and well worth every drop of sweat generated in reaching
there. Marx insisted that we must always be aware of the historicity of our
conceptual constructions. Paying attention to geosophy would take us far in
that regard.
(C. K. Lal would like to believe that he is a student of interdisciplinary
studies)
***********
We Sinful Women: Contemporary Urdu Feminist Poetry.
Translator and editor, Rukhsana Ahmad.
Publisher: The Women's Press, London, 1991.
Challenging the Canon: Urdu Feminist Poetry
Carla Petievich
This collection, published first in Pakistan as Beyond Belief (ASR, Lahore
1990), will be of interest to any reader of contemporary South Asian
feminist writing as well as those more specifically interested in
Urdu
literature or progressive poetry. In an informative and
accessible
introduction, the editor-translator boldly asserts her belief
that "the most
innovative, the most radical and the most interesting poetry
of our time is
being produced by women" in a literary tradition that is
"male dominated and
devoted to the past". These may prove to be fighting
words, as
even the token acceptance granted to feminist criticism in the
academy during
the past decade has yet to be manifest in the world of Urdu
letters where
publishers, critics and patrons still tend overwhelmingly to
be male. Readers will judge for themselves whether they agree with Rukhsana
Ahmad's assertions, but all should be glad of the opportunity she has
afforded us by bringing
together for the first time these 51 poems by 7
modern female poets.
The volume suggests an alternative literary canon, comprised of poets
whose
work represents "brave departures from that [male dominated]
literary
tradition [devoted to the past]". Readers will not be surprised to
find represented here such famous writers as Kishwar Naheed and
Fahmida
Riyaz (indeed their selections comprise about half the volume, and the
title itself is taken from one of Naheed's acclaimed poems). Kishwar
Naheed
and Fahmida Riyaz are undoubtedly the two best known female names in
modern
Urdu poetry, and even a casual dabbler on the scene will probably
have been
exposed to both, repeatedly. Their fame in no way compromises
their
credentials for inclusion in this volume, for both have consistently
written
woman-centered poetry over some thirty years. Furthermore, both
are
responsible for establishing an authentic female voice--a voice of
feminine
desire--within Urdu poetry while casting their nets far beyond
the
prescribed concerns of gender-segregated "female" realms to include,
for example,
contemporary Pakistani electoral, legal and linguistic
politics.
Indeed, the editor poses anti-sexist values and social content explicitly
as criteria for
feminist writing in Urdu. In her explanation of why such a
beloved poet as
Parveen Shakir is absent from We Sinful Women, she writes
that "the
acceptance of sexist values and the absence of a social context
makes
[Shakir's] writing distinctively un-feminist". This
explanation
underlines another major contribution of the volume, one that
is long overdue
in Urdu literature: the exercise of a critical distinction
between feminist
writing and any work by a female writer.
At the centre of this collection are three poems by Sara Shagufta
which
constitute a call to arms grounded in articulate rage. Their focus
on
mothers, daughters, and the isolation of being a woman identify the
logical
base from which to launch feminist struggle. Tragically, the call
came too late for the poet herself, who committed suicide at an early age,
"deeply
pained by the indifference of a chauvinistic poet husband who was
surrounded
by 'critics/friends' ready to deride her work". A complement
to
Shagufta can be found in Ishrat Aafreen, whose first volume of poetry
heralded
the arrival of a young, vigorously intellectual, perhaps
neo-traditional (?)
poet. Aafreen, who hasn't published since her marriage,
writes such direct
and piercing lines as:
Mera qad I grew
mere baap se uncha nikla Taller than my father
aur meri maa jeet gayi And my mother won.
("Dedication" [Intisaab ], p. 141)
Ahmad points out that the best-accepted female poets tend to be those
who
conform both to socio-political norms of gender identity and the
literary
tradition. As someone who puts little faith in the notion that
those voices which get heard are a matter of any coincidence, I offer an
inverse
illustration: I had never before read anything by Saeeda Gazdar.
whose
powerful nazm "Twelfth of February, 1983" is included here. This long
poem
expresses fiery protest against the police violence encountered by
women in
Lahore when took to the streets on that date in opposition to Laws
of Evidence
curtailing women's status as citizens. Zehra Nigah, on the
other hand, writes
poetry far less overtly political or expressive of
protest, and perhaps less
challenging to the status quo. The editor notes
that the poems included here
"illustrate the pathos of her resignation" to
the forces working against
feminist writing, and "stay well within the
bounds of 'protest' expected and
permitted in women's writing from the
subcontinent". Zehra Nigah is a
much-loved and highly respected poet in
Pakistan. Rukhsana Ahmad's point is well taken.
The translations themselves are very competent, and where one might
find
herself imagining slightly different choices occasionally, they would
only
join a continuum of legitimate possibilities, rather than claiming to
be
corrective in any way. Translation is always a matter of choice,
and
subjective, and we can but applaud the translator who takes the risk
of
displaying her choices so unguardedly. One also commends her
decision to
put the Urdu original on the page facing her translation, a
welcome
convention gaining increased popularity in recent years.
Some of the selections--especially works by Naheed and Riyaz--have appeared
in
translation before. While one always hopes to increase the volume of
Urdu
poetry in English translation, Ahmad here makes yet another
contribution with
her own selection: by putting her own translations up
against those of, say,
Bedar Bakht (translator of Kishwar Naheed's The
Price of Looking Back, Lahore 1987) she affords us the opportunity to
engage in a dialogue concerning the nature and implication of translation
itself, a subject that is necessarily comparative.
A central concern of both We Sinful Women and this review is that of
access
and exposure, of canon formation. Who owns Urdu poetry? Whose
tradition is
it? Who selects and represents it to the outside? Who
translates it? What
gets translated?
During an interview, Rukhsana Ahmad spoke of this project as having helped
to
bring her back to her own roots, to a tradition she was losing but is
glad to
reclaim. The catalyst to undertaking this project was a query from
a young
British Asian feminist who spoke some Urdu but did not read or
write. Her
appeal was simple: was there anything in this literature with
which she could
identify? Were there women poets in Urdu? Is there any
tradition of feminism
in Pakistan? The fact that she did not know speaks
volumes about who and what
represent Urdu literature to the non-Urdu world.
By seeking out and presenting the poems in We Sinful Women, and by
framing
them as she does with her introductory remarks, Rukhsana Ahmad has
taken a
giant step beyond those who ruefully shake their heads, agree that
the
tradition--nay, the society itself--is male dominated, and carry on
editing and
publishing anthologies which neither offer increased
representation to women
poets, nor indicate that male poets are tackling
the problem on their own. It is no exaggeration to say that We Sinful Women
represents the first serious attempt to really challenge the modern Urdu
canon (anyone proving me wrong will do me the favour of exposing me to
more
poetry I am keen to read).
An Indian or Nepali edition of this collection would be most welcome.
Because
of its script and the increasing hazards of communalism in a world
where the
language is associated so exclusively (and incorrectly) with
Muslim culture, Urdu has gradually lost the wider readership its literature
enjoyed in the
past. But the literary and social concerns evident here
reflect very closely those of other literatures across the subcontinent.
(C. Petievich is the author of Assembly of Rivals: Delhi, Lucknow, and the
Urdu Ghazal (Manohar, 1992), and many articles on Urdu poetry and the
historical politics of Urdu literature).
*********
Amitav Ghosh
Title: The Calcutta Chromosome
Publisher: Ravi Dayal Publisher, Delhi, 1996.
Price: IRs. 190
Malarial Imaginings
Kathryn Hansen
In The Calcutta Chromosome, his fourth novel, Amitav Ghosh takes on a new
persona by writing a history of science thriller. With breathtaking
agility, he leads his readers on a merry chase between Calcutta, Manhattan,
Secunderabad, and Renupur, a remote Bihar village. The romp has a serious
side, for at stake is the cure for malaria, one of mankind's most ravaging
and unvanquishable diseases. Events pivot around August 20, World Mosquito
Day, established in honor of Sir Ronald Ross, the Nobel laureate who
discovered that malaria was a mosquito-borne disease. In classic
science-fiction fashion, the geographic planes are connected by travel
through time, so that the narrative crisscrosses between the 19th, 20th,
and 21st centuries, creating a sort of triple helix. Ghosh drops clues in
dizzying succession, challenging the reader to identify the correspondences
between characters that will solve the final mystery. If his patterns seem
finally to demand computer analysis, his comic vignettes buoy up the book
and return solid entertainment.
A bifocal gaze on scientific progress emerges as the principal theme of the
novel. Ghosh's fascination with the annals of medicine animates its central
pages. Here the focus is the career of Sir Ronald Ross, a poet and
gentleman who almost inadvertently becomes a scientist. Sent off to join
the Indian Medical Service, Ross gets entangled in the search for the
malarial parasite vector. Medicine is at such a primitive stage at the end
of the 19th century that malaria is introduced into patients suffering from
syphilis to relieve their symptoms. Ross's adventures in the lab are
paralleled by the manic quest of L. Murugan, an archivist for an
international health organization, who is searching for the "Calcutta
chromosome" exactly one hundred years later. This elusive bit of genetic
material has the potential, Murugan believes, to transform the human
personality and maybe even to extend life.
For both Ross and Murugan, the process of scientific discovery is vexed and
fraught with peril. Partly this is due to the limitations and irrational
impulses of the scientists themselves, but even more to the fact that they
are part of a larger experiment controlled by a higher power. The two
quests are lodged within a third time-frame, indeed are visualized with the
help of Ava, an all-knowing and all-seeing master computer. In the
dystopian world of the 21st century, the progress created by science has
run amuck. Computers know the dialects of the world better than their
native speakers, and the lives of their operators, like the depressed
Antar, are arid wastelands ruled by the clock and Ava's panoptical
scrutiny. Humanity still seeks not only for the relief of physical ailment
but for liberation of the spirit from the everyday.
Science then is countered in the novel by a fascination with the mystical,
the arcane, the hidden. Spiritualists on the model of Madame Blavatsky hold
seances in late-Victorian parlors where scientists go into trance. Ross's
lab assistants lead double lives as cult figures with strange nighttime
rituals. The microscope, tool of discovery, itself becomes a mystical icon,
appearing in the hand of a terracotta image at the shrine to Ronald Ross's
memory. Delirious visions contribute a hallucinatory quality to the novel's
texture, becoming the trajectories for glimpses into the other world. All
three protagonists, Ross, Murugan, and Antar are infected with malaria, and
during their bouts with fever they experience altered states of
consciousness. Extrasensory powers are also associated with the novels'
female characters, Tara, Urmila, and Mangala, all of whom contain a secret
force that enables their male counterparts to make their discoveries. In
this quality, they suggest the great goddess of Hinduism, worshipped as
Shakti in Bengal.
A curious subplot concerns a writer named Phulboni, a fictional amalgam of
such real-life literary figures as Tagore, Bonophul, and Phanishwarnath
Renu. Phulboni on first acquaintance appears on stage at an official award
ceremony, delivering a soporific speech on his lifelong pursuit of Silence.
Later he gets his comeuppance in the tiny railway station near Renupur, but
only after finally communing with the splendid, vast northern Bihar plain
at sunset during the monsoon. Phulboni is the subject of the research of
Urmila, a young journalist. Her particular interest lies in the "Laakhan
stories," written during an early part of the author's career. Laakhan
links a number of strands across time and space, transforming into
Lutchman, Lachman, Lucky, and a nameless adolescent in a T-shirt throughout
the book's pages. Nonetheless Phulboni's purpose in the novel is rather
opaque. Is he there as Ghosh's alter ego, or as a signal to the debt Ghosh
owes to his literary forebears?
These are only a few of the questions that the reader is likely to pose at
the end of this bewildering book. What we have here is a puzzle or anagram
rather than a study of character and environment. Although Ghosh borrows
from Renu in particular for snatches of regional color, he seems less sure
of his language and sense of place than in his earlier fiction. Murugan's
monologues in their attempt to mimic a trashy American tone are often
unconvincing. Nor can the feel of Calcutta be conjured simply by reciting
the map of its urban landscape. Yet if the reader wishes a window into the
fevered aspect of Ghosh's imagination, there can be no better starting
point than this. The Calcutta Chromosome is recommended as a unique journey
into the uncharted domain of Indian science fiction.
(K. Hansen is the author of Grounds for Play: The Nautanki Theatre of North
India, and has translated the short stories of Hindi novelist
Phanishwarnath Renu.)
The KPRB on-line: http://jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu/~deschene/sinhas/kprb.html
**********************************************************
Date: Thu, 03 Sep 1998 03:32:13 +0530
From: NMC &NMCTH <nmc@mos.com.np>
To: Nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Release of a Publication
Release of a Publication
Kathmandu, August 26
A publication, Fertility Transition in Nepal, was released today by Dr.
Jagadish Pokharel, Member of the Planning Commission, amidst a function
jointly organized by Tribhuvan University's Centre for Nepal and Asian
Studies (CNAS), Population Association of Nepal, and Family Health
International. The function was attended by social scientists with
special interest in population, authors/ coauthors, writers and
reporters representing selected newspapers.
Dr. Pokharel noted that a wave of social change has been underway in
Nepal, although it has affected certain population subgroups and certain
geographic areas more than others have. "After several years of efforts,
we are witnessing the emergence of a new culture of contraception and a
new culture of preference for smaller family size," he remarked. Dr.
Pokharel underlined the importance of high quality research aimed at
assessing the achievements made by the various population and
development programs.
The publication contains 11 articles by 16 authors and co-authors. The
papers range from assessing levels of fertility to exploring various
social, cultural and economic factors that have contributed to the
decline in fertility. Prem K. Khatry, Executive Director of CNAS
observed that the release of the publication coincides with the 25th
year of the publication of CNAS' journal, Contributions to Nepalese
Studies. Dr. Robert D. Retherford, senior associate at the East-West
Center, Honolulu, noted that the local publication plays a vital role in
reaching a wider audience in Nepal. According to Dr. Shyam Thapa,
Scientist with Family Health International and senior editor of the
volume, the publication represents the first ever collection of papers
on the topic of fertility transition in Nepal. Dr. Ram Hari Aryal, Vice
President of the Population Association of Nepal, informed that the
papers are based on an international conference held in November 1997 in
Kathmandu.
Volume 25
Special Issue
July 1998
FERTILITY TRANSITION IN NEPAL
Editors
SHYAM THAPA
SHARA G. NEIDELL
DILLI R. DAHAL
Based on the conference on
Fertility Transition in Nepal: Changing Context and Dynamics
Kathmandu
CENTRE FOR NEPAL AND ASIAN STUDIES
TRIBHUVAN UNIVERSITY
Kirtipur, Nepal
July 1998
CONTENTS
Preface v
ARTICLES
The Global Fertility Transition and Nepal 1
JOHN C. CALDWELL
Fertility Trends in Nepal, 1977-1995 9
ROBERT D. RETHERFORD
SHYAM THAPA
Tamang Transitions: Transformations in the Culture of
Childbearing and Fertility among Nepal's Tamang 59
DILLI R. DAHAL
THOMAS E. FRICKE
Fertility Transition in Kathmandu 79
RAM HARI ARYAL
Determinants of Fertility in the 1970s and 1990s in Nepal 95
LAXMI BILAS ACHARYA
Moslem and Non-Moslem Fertility Differences in the
Eastern Terai of Nepal 109
SHARA G. NEIDELL
BHANU B. NIRAULA
S. PHILIP MORGAN
SHARON STASH
Socioeconomic Changes, Women's Autonomy and Timing
of First Birth in a Semi-urban Community in Nepal 129
DEVENDRA P. SHRESTHA
Regional Patterns of Fertility in Nepal 145
BHIM P. SUBEDI
Women's Autonomy and Reproductive Behavior in
Two Urban Areas of Nepal 157
BHANU B. NIRAULA
DOVAN LAWATI
The Contextual Web of Fertility Control: A Case Study
of Chisang Village 173
DEBENDRA KARKI
Understanding Fertility Transition: Back to Basics 199
JOHN CLELAND
ABSTRACTS 215
AUTHORS FOR THIS ISSUE 221
ABSTRACTS
The Global Fertility Transition and Nepal
JOHN C. CALDWELL
The global fertility transition has now been progressing for two
centuries and still not all countries have begun their fertility
declines. The first to do so was France in the late eighteenth century.
The most recent is Nepal which is now the poorest country in the world
with declining fertility, although at the onset of its decline it
probably compared in per capita income with Bangladesh and possibly with
France at their onsets. New data sources now allow us to compare
fertility transitions across the world in terms of the speed of declines
in individual countries and in the diffusion of their onsets from one
country to another across regions. The similarities, at least over the
last 125 years, are more striking than the differences. The Nepal
decline is a typical Asian one with leadership provided by the
government and elites, and resembles India in the predominant role
played by sterilization. Nepal's fertility transition is of particular
interest in three ways: (1) the low per capita income at which it is
occurring; (2) the difficult topography of the country, which divides
the population into those with easy access to the outside world who have
joined the global economy and exhibit declining fertility and those
without roads or schools who are still characterized by stable high
fertility; and (3) the reliance for most fertility control on
sterilization.
Fertility Trends in Nepal, 1977-1995
ROBERT D. RETHERFORD
SHYAM THAPA
This article presents estimates of fertility trends in Nepal for the
period 1977-95, derived from two national surveys-the 1991 Nepal
Fertility, Family Planning and Health Survey (NFFPHS) and the 1996 Nepal
Family Health Survey (NFHS). Various fertility measures are estimated,
including age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs), the total fertility rate
(TFR), period parity progression ratios (PPPRs), and the total fertility
rate and the total marital fertility rate derived from PPPRs (TFRp and
TMFRp). Trends in these measures are estimated for the 15-year period
before each survey in the case of ASFRs and the TFR, and for the 10-year
period before each survey in the case of PPPRs, TFRp, and TMFRp. For any
given fertility measure, each survey yields a trend for years before the
survey, and the two trends estimated from the two surveys overlap during
some of these years. If the data were perfect, the two trends would
coincide during the period of overlap. But the data are not perfect, and
the trends do not coincide. Analysis of the discrepancies allows an
improved assessment of the true trend in fertility. The principal
finding is that fertility has been declining somewhat more slowly than
commonly thought. The total fertility rate is estimated to have declined
from 5.80 to 4.95 between 1977 and 1995. It declined more rapidly in
urban areas than in rural areas, and more rapidly among women with more
than a primary education than among women with a primary education or
less.
Tamang Transitions: Transformations in the Culture of Childbearing and
Fertility among Nepal's Tamang
DILLI R. DAHAL
THOMAS E. FRICKE
This article reviews significant findings from over 15 years of research
on the culture of fertility and family transitions in two Tamang
communities of Nepal. Data sources include both qualitative ethnography
and quantitative survey materials collected from the collaborative
Tamang Family Research Project. Major findings indicate that behavioral
transitions in familial and childbearing patterns are closely associated
with changing economic contexts away from earlier subsistence production
to increasing involvement in the monetized economy. More recently,
research has further indicated the beginnings of transitions in the
cultural contexts of family and identity. The authors suggest that the
moral entailments of Tamang patterns of meaning are the key to
variations in behavior in response to changing material conditions.
Fertility Transition in Kathmandu
RAM HARI ARYAL
Using data from a survey carried out in Kathmandu in 1997, this paper
analyzes the onset of the fertility transition. The analysis uses the
index of marital fertility control (m) and parity progression ratios to
document the onset of fertility changes. The results show that women
tend to have children shortly after marriage. Nevertheless, there is
evidence of a transition toward two and three child families.
Additionally as educational attainment rises, women's fertility
declines.
Determinants of Fertility in the 1970s and 1990s in Nepal
LAXMI BILAS ACHARYA
Using data from the 1976 Nepal Fertility Survey and the 1996 Nepal
Family Health Survey this paper examines how selected socioeconomic
variables and two proximate factors, age at marriage and ever use of
contraception, affect both recent and cumulative fertility. The total
change in fertility is decomposed to assess the extent to which changes
in fertility behavior were due to compositional changes in the
distribution of women or were net of these effects. The results show
that socioeconomic variables have begun to play an important role in
fertility reduction. Age at marriage has a strong inverse association
with cumulative fertility; contraception, however, has a positive
association. This could be due to the tendency for Nepali couples to use
contraception only after achieving their desired family size.
Moslem and Non-Moslem Fertility Differences in the Eastern Terai of
Nepal
SHARA G. NEIDELL
BHANU B. NIRAULA
S. PHILIP MORGAN
SHARON STASH
Using data collected in early 1997 from three religious/ethnic groups
(Moslems, Mahato and Tharu) in the Eastern Terai of Nepal we examine the
effects of religious/ethnic differences, other background variables and
measures of women's autonomy on reproductive behavior. Moslem women have
lower levels of autonomy, greater desires for additional children and
are less likely to be using contraception than either Mahato or Tharu
women. Multivariate analyses reveal the persistence of these
religious/ethnic variations, thereby suggesting that women's autonomy
differences cannot explain differences in reproductive behavior. We
discuss other explanations for these fertility differences.
Socioconomic Changes, Women's Autonomy, and Timing of First Birth in a
Semi-Urban Community in Nepal
DEVENDRA P. SHRESTHA
Using micro-demographic data gathered from a single ethnic group, the
Newars of Kirtipur in the Kathmandu Valley, this paper examines the
influence of family and individual experience variables on the timing of
the first birth in the context of social transformation. The cohort
analysis finds that the first birth interval has been declining in the
study community. The results show significant effects of birth cohort,
respondent's outside exposure before marriage and the interaction term,
gift times time. The effects of several other variables, while not
significant, are in the expected directions, suggesting that women's
literacy, higher age at marriage and having one's own choice of spouse
may encourage the establishment of intimacy between a husband and wife
and, therefore, lead to a shortening of the first birth interval.
Regional Patterns of Fertility in Nepal
BHIM P. SUBEDI
Using ecodevelopment regions as the units of analysis and data from the
1971 and 1991 population censuses, this paper examines regional-level
changes in fertility and its association with selected development
factors. The results suggest a mixed pattern of fertility changes in the
15 ecodevelopment regions during the 20-year period. Fertility has
clearly declined in two of the 15 regions, which are characterized by
high levels of social and human development. In some districts there is
a plateau in the level of fertility, while in other areas, fertility may
even be rising. Some of the apparent differences and changes may be
related to the quality of the data as well as changes in mortality.
These preliminary results suggest further research is needed to
understand fertility differentials at the regional level in Nepal.
Women's Autonomy and Reproductive Behavior in Two Urban Areas of Nepal
BHANU B. NIRAULA
DOVAN LAWATI
Based on data collected in 1997, this paper examines the
interrelationship between gender roles, women's autonomy and fertility
behavior in two urban settings, one in the hill and the other in Terai.
The results confirm gender-specific division of work. The Terai setting,
however, shows comparatively more gender-balance in tasks performed and
decisions made than the hill setting. Following from this, women's
autonomy in the Terai was found to be higher than in the hill. This is
not, however, associated with differential patterns of reproductive
behavior. The hill women, in spite of their lower autonomy, are less
likely to have an unmet need for contraception than those in the Terai.
We surmise that there may be some threshold level of modernization above
which further improvements in women's autonomy may not lead to continued
increases in contraceptive use.
The Contextual Web of Fertility Control: A Case Study of Chisang Village
DEBENDRA KARKI
The paper examines how various village and family/individual level
factors have triggered measurable changes in reproductive attitudes and
behavior in Chisang, a village in the Eastern Terai of Nepal. The
research design employed a combination of survey questionnaires and
unstructured interviews, complemented by participant observation. In
Chisang, fertility change is occurring as a result of changing
sociocultural, economic and development factors including increased
educational opportunities, changing roles of women and local
availability of family planning methods in addition to infrastructure
development. This case study underscores that analysis of fertility
changes in the village should not be viewed in isolation from the
regional or national socioeconomic changes which form the context of the
fertility transition. The majority of the Chisang residents are
migrants, and are therefore receptive to changing norms and practices.
They are innovative and are breaking away from many traditional ways of
thinking; one of these innovations is increased fertility regulation
achieved principally by delaying age of marriage and increasing
contraceptive use within marriage.
Understanding Fertility Transition: Back to Basics
JOHN CLELAND
A review of developing country demographic trends since 1960
demonstrates that fertility decline has occurred in a wide range of
economic, social and cultural circumstances and that it will probably
become universal in the near future. It is argued that the huge gains in
life expectancy that occurred in the twentieth century constitute the
most plausible underlying cause of the near-ubiquitous falls in
fertility. However, explanations of the precise timing and speed of
national fertility transitions need to take into account many other
factors.
AUTHORS FOR THIS ISSUE
LAXMI BILAS ACHARYA, Ph.D. is Lecturer, Central Department of Population
Studies, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu.
RAM HARI ARYAL, Ph.D. is Under-secretary, Population and Social
Committee, House of Representatives, Kathmandu.
JOHN C. CALDWELL, Ph.D. is Professor of Demography and Director, Health
Transition Centre, Australian National University, Canberra.
JOHN CLELAND, M.A.. is Professor, Centre for Population Studies, London
School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London.
DILLI R. DAHAL, Ph.D. is Associate Professor, Centre for Nepal and Asian
Studies, and Associate, Department of Anthropology/Sociology, Tribhuvan
University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu.
THOMAS E. FRICKE, Ph.D. is Associate Professor, Department of
Anthropology, and Senior Study Director, Institute for Social Research,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
DEBENDRA KARKI, Ph.D. is Lecturer, Department of Community Medicine,
Nepal Medical College and Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu.
DOVAN LAWATI, M.B.A. is Women's Development Officer, Agricultural
Projects Services Centre, Kathmandu.
S. PHILIP MORGAN, Ph.D. is Professor, Population Studies
Center/Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
SHARA G. NEIDELL, Ph.D. candidate is Fulbright Fellow, Commission for
Educational Exchange Between the United States and Nepal, Kathmandu, and
Population Studies Center/Department of Sociology, University of
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
BHANU B. NIRAULA, Ph.D. is Senior Sociologist/Demographer, Agricultural
Projects Services Centre, Kathmandu.
ROBERT D. RETHERFORD, Ph.D. is Senior Fellow, Program on Population,
East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii.
DEVENDRA P. SHRESTHA, Ph.D. is Associate Professor, Central Department
of Economics, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu.
SHARON STASH, Ph.D. is Mellon Post-doctoral Fellow, Population Studies
Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
BHIM P. SUBEDI, Ph.D. is Lecturer, Department of Geography, Tribhuvan
University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu.
SHYAM THAPA, Ph.D. is Senior Scientist, Family Health International,
North Carolina, and Technical Advisor, Family Health Division, Ministry
of Health, Kathmandu.
If you are interested in ordering a copy of this Publication please
contact Dr Debendra Karki at nmc@mos.com.np.
If you require additional information on the Publication, the Fertility
Transition in Nepal Conference or the Authors of the Publication, please
contact Dr Shyam Thapa at sthapa@fhi.wlink.com.np.
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