News, Views From Nepal

Yuba Nath Lamsal India's foreign policy in general and South Asia policy in particular is based on Kautilya's theory. Kautilya's treatise of diplomacy and war emphasizes on acquiring influence by use of force—both soft and hard power. Kautilya's so-called Mandala theory of foreign policy states: 'the immediate neighbours are considered as enemies, but any state on the other side of a neighboring state is regarded as an ally, or, the enemy of my enemy is my friend'. Kautilya believed that diplomacy was just another weapon used in the prolonged warfare that was always either occurring or being planned for, which the modern India has followed in letter and spirit when it comes to the relationship with its neighbours. Some foreign policy critics have gone one step ahead to term India's neighbourhood policy as being guided by colonial mentality. The 'use of force', 'divide and rule' policy and the 'doctrine of laps' that British rulers had...

Yuba Nath Lamsal Hawaii: A piece of paradise. The Aloha land where spring never ends. These are a few beautiful descriptions I had ever read and heard about Hawaii. This made me really tempted to see and visit Hawaii. The dream finally came true last December. Seeing is beiliving. And seeing Hawaii with own eyes, I felt that appearances are sometimes deceptive. It can be so if you plan to visit Hawaii based on travel brochure. The pictures in the travel brochures usually look more bautiful than reality. However, the case of Hawaii is different. Hawaii, in fact, is prettier than picture. Situated in the North Pacific 2396 miles south west of San Fransisco, Hawaii is a chain of islands, which makes up 50th state of the United States of America. Honolulu is the state capital and heart of Hawaii. “Aloha”, says any Hawaian you come across. Aloha is the word to greet in native Hawaian language. Hawaii is, thus, called the “Aloha Land”. It was late December morning I landed on Honolulu Intern...

Yuba Nath Lamsal Turin was the last leg of my sojourn in Italy. Turin was a beautiful resort city of Italy surrounded by mountains like Kathmandu and Pokhara. It is an attraction for many tourists from Europe simply because it offers an opportunity to see the Alps in general and Mount Blanc in particular from a close range. The Alps is a great mountain range system of Europe. The word Alps was borrowed from the Latin language, which means 'white and high'. Mount Blanc that stands proudly between France and Italy is the highest peak in the Alps range. We arrived in Turin by a bus from Bologna traversing Italy 's vast landscape mostly the rural areas. The countryside, which we passed en route to Turin was serene and green. Though rural in nature, all urban facilities were available there. The only thing that was missing was the crowd of people and vehicles, smokes, pollution and hectic life. The land was vast and all cultivated. There were patches of houses in between. Every ...

Yuba Nath Lamsal Time travels faster than anything. Even after almost half a decade, the trip to historic Italian town of Bologna keeps on coming to my memory. It was a great moment for me as the trip offered me an opportunity to see a classic town of Italy?a cradle of European civilisation. For a Nepali travelling abroad is a rare chance and gifted opportunity. An average Nepali with meagre income can hardly afford to travel abroad. It must be a sponsored trip. But I am an exception when it comes to travelling. I am not fond of travelling for long. A week is enough. After a week, I start getting homesick. But I was excited during my trip to Bologna, a city where famous European University?Bologna University?is located. Turin (Italian call it Torino) is a resort town and major attraction for the European tourists. I was invited by Slow Food International, a movement aiming to revive the traditional food culture and conserve environment in its natural form. The world conference the Slow...

Yuba Nath Lamsal It was a fascination and thrilling to land on the ancient city of learning. It is Bologna, where I would stay for a week. Despite the bitter experience in Milan, Bologna gave me a different impression—love and hospitality.Bologna is famous as a cultural town not only in Italy but also across Europe. Bolognese are proud of their cultural essence and superiority?a rare asset. It is the center of learning during the Ottoman and Roman Empires and later the land of cultural renaissance in Europe. The Bologna University is one of oldest not only in Europe but also in the world.I arrived at Bologna with a preconceived notion that all Italians are rude and rough especially with the people from Asia and Africa. The humiliating incident in the Milan airport was always haunting me. But Bolognaise people were different from the rest of the Italians. They were simple and wonderful, less commercial and more hospitable. A small but fabulous city, Bologna welcomes visitors with humili...

Yuba Nath Lamsal From global viewpoint, South Asia is seen as a region of perpetual conflict. It is mainly due to tension between India and Pakistan. These nations have already fought three wars and were nearly at war following the attacks in Indian parliament in December 2001. The danger of another war between these two South Asian nuclear powers is always looming large. Peace still seems a distant possibility in South Asia mainly between India and Pakistan. The appeal for war seems stronger than the appeal for peace in both neighbours leaving the entire South Asian region in vulnerability. However, situation is changing slowly. These two archrivals are, now, coming closer and engaging themselves in constructive dialogue, which has, in deed, raised a new hope for peace in the region. This is definitely going to be matter of great satisfaction for the citizens of South Asia. India and Pakistan have started the composite dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues that had remained pend...

Yuba Nath Lamsal Politicians, planners, policymakers, development workers and other stakeholders from the South Asian countries are converging in Kathmandu to discuss the progress made on their commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and developing a roadmap to eradicate extreme poverty. This regional conclave, being organised by the United Nations and the Asian Development Bank, is an opportunity for all the South Asian nations to share their knowledge and experiences on how best to ensure the minimum basic needs of the people. PovertySouth Asia is home to a fifth of the world's human resource - the main driving force of development if properly mobilised. The region has tremendous natural resources - from the mighty Himalaya to the vast expanse of the ocean. The Himalaya and the Hind Kush are the sources of the world's great rivers that have served as the lifeblood to more than a billion people in the region and elsewhere. The world's best fertile land lies i...

Yuba Nath Lamsa THE South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Charter Day was observed by all its member states with a flurry of activities to commemorate the day when it was formally announced by signing the Charter of the regional body in Dhaka 21 years ago. The founding fathers of the SAARC visualized a prosperous South Asia through collective efforts and cooperation. However, the pace with which SAARC is moving ahead is so slow that it has not been able to achieve its much vaunted goal of fostering meaningful cooperation for the prosperity and progress of the one-fifth of humanity living in this region.SlowThe twenty-one years are not short a period to build an organization and get into work. In the twenty-one years of journey, other regional blocks like ASEAN and European Union had advanced quite a lot. But the SAARC has been entangled and preoccupied so much with the bilateral issues of the two powerful rivals of the region that the process has hardly moved ahead i...

Yuba Nath Lamsal IF the reports in some vernacular papers are, at all, true, a group of priests, recently, knocked the doors of administration and human rights groups seeking justice against exploitation. Their grudges were, in deed, genuine as they complained that priests were underpaid. According to reports, these religious performers, in one of the incident in the district, were paid only eleven rupees as “dakshina” at the end of seven-long days of religious performances (saptah), which, they say, is exploitation of their labour. Had they worked in other sectors of the economy, they must have earned at least seven hundreds in a week. By any standard, the pay is, no doubt, a meager. This is the age of democracy and human rights. The dignity of labour has been recognized and respected everywhere in the present day world. Due wages must be paid to the workers, if they are hired to do certain jobs. Of course, the priests, too, have human rights. The mere eleven rupees for the work of se...

Yuba Nath Lamsal History - in every century,records an act that lives forevermore.We'll recall - as in to line we fall,the thing that happened on Hawaii's shore. Let's REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR -As we go to meet the foe -Let's REMEMBER PEARL HARBORAs we did the Alamo. We will always remember -how they died for liberty,Let's REMEMBER PEARL HARBORand go on to victory Immediately after the Japanese attack in Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941, Don Reid wrote this patriotic song. The song “Remember Pearl Harbour” became instant hit with the American people. The song based on the theme of “ March with spirit” was played in every radio station and sung in every family, social and religious function in America during the wartime. Historians say this song filled patriotic sentiment in the mind of American citizens, and united the entire people, who were previously divided over the issue of US involvement in the war, rallied together in the war against Japan and the Axis of Allia...

Yuba Nath Lamsal Even one year after, the United States of America has not yet been fully recovered from the pain and shock of the terrorist attack. The ruthless attack on World Trade Center and the Pentagon killed more than 3000 people and caused an untold misery in the history of the United States and the world, which American people would never forget. The terrorist attack further solidified the unity of American people. It not only developed a sense of unity among the people of America but also united the wolrd in the fight against terrorism. Now the feeling of patriotism among American people has been more than ever since the World War II. Many American youth, who were hesitant earlier, are eager to join US Army with the patriotic sense of defending America and fighting against US enemies—at present the international terrorism perpetrated by Al Queda and its allies. Unlike Korean and Vietnam war, the 9-11 incident brought all American people together. The tragedy might have broken...

Yuba Nath Lamsal THE security concept is as old as human civilization. The notion of nation-state emerged out of the collective security of the people in the certain territories. Principally all human beings are equal, but not practically. Each and every individual is different physically, mentally, intellectually and psychologically. The heterogonous behavour and nature of the mankind created competition—sometimes healthy and more often fierce. In the unhealthy competition and rivalry, the early people developed a mechanism to protect the less strong section of the humanity, which was later called the State. The state comprised of certain territory, people living in that territory, a ruler with authority to govern. The ruler formulated a set of “dos” and “don’t dos”, which were later called rules or laws, and developed a mechanism and organizational structure to facilitate the rulers. Territories were important for the people to forage food. The early concept of governance was to defe...

Yuba Nath Lamsal The recent remarks made by UNMIN’s Chief Karin Landgren in her briefing to the UN Security Council have caused a furor in Nepal. The UNMIN chief hinted at three possibilities in Nepal’s political landscape after UNMIN departs. The three possibilities that the UNMIN Chief forsees are an army coup, presidential rule or power seizure by the Maoists. These remarks have irked all the political forces and institutions including the president, the government, ruling parties and also the Maoists. Landgren did not specifically mention these options. She said that there is a fear in the mind of the Nepali people about these three possibilities. By saying this, she wanted to amplify the significance and importance of UNMIN in Nepal. She also hinted that the people would be terrorised after UNMIN’s departure, which implies that UNMIN’s stay in Nepal was necessary. Peace process Her conclusion may or may not turn out to be true. But one thing is certain that the peace process and o...

Yuba Nath Lamsal Nepal is in history's worst political crisis. Taking advantage of the political deadlock, some external forces are directly and openly interfering in Nepal's internal affairs and dictating their terms on our political parties. The external interference in Nepal's internal affairs is more naked and blatant than ever before. The lack of decision-making capability of power-monger parties and politicians has paved the way for external meddling in Nepal. While the external forces are active in Nepal to control in its domestic politics and other affairs, the political parties and politicians are preoccupied in power struggle grossly compromising the national interest, national sovereignty and independence. The tendency of the parties to seek support from the external forces to go to power has further aggravated the problem. Although the western countries including the United States are also interested in Nepal's domestic politics and they want the Nepali pol...

Yuba Nath Lamsal Nepal has seen many political experiments in the short span of time. This is more so after 1990 when the country saw multi-party political system. During this period, all types of governments and leaders were tested, most of whom failed to get good rating from the people. The interim government, one-party majority government, one-party minority government, coalition governments of different types were experimented but none could deliver the goods. Failure Democracy was the casualty of the parties’ failure. Even after the ten years of constitutional and democratic exercises, roots of democracy could not spread deep enough at the grassroots level. Institutions were not created and strengthened. Instead, heavy handedness of politicians in power and direct political interference weakened the system and institution. This was a major cause of failure of democracy in Nepal. Election is an important aspect of democratic polity. It involves people in the political process and g...

Yuba Nath Lamsal RECENTLY we have seen two positive developments in the communist movement in Nepal. Firstly, there has been a realization of unification in the communist movement. And the second is the talks between the government and Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) to end six-year old armed insurgency. Let us first discuss the beginning and developments of Nepalese communist movement and the recent unity efforts. Nepal’s communist movement is the most fragmented one in the world. There are already more than a dozen communist parties in Nepal with different names. Each party is hostile to the other. Despite repeated call and speech of leftist leaders for unity, the communist movement kept on being fragmented. Split is more common than unity in Nepal’s communist movement. Communist Party of Nepal was formed in 1949 as the youngest communist party in Asia. Late Pushpa Lal Shrestha took the initiative to form the communist party in Nepal and is, thus, regarded as the father of Nepal’s com...