News, Views From Nepal

 Yuba Nath Lamsal Known among the Nepali speaking population across the globe as Aadikabi or pioneer poet, Bhanubhakta Acharya is, indeed, one of the greatest personalities Nepal has ever produced. His contribution to the promotion of Nepali language and literature is definitely huge and heavy. During Bhanubhakta’s days, circumstances were not easy as they are today. Opportunities of education were not easily available in Nepal. Schools had not been established. Reading and wiring were the strict privilege of the upper caste Brahmins that, too, was limited to religious study. The study of liberal art and other streams of learning were not available. One had to travel as far as Banaras of India if he wanted to pursue education. It was so with Bhanubhakta as well. A son of Dhananjaya Acharya who belonged to a religious Brahmin family, Bhanubhakta Acharya learnt basic skills of reading and writing at home under the custodianship of his grandfather, Sri Krishna Acharya, who was a Sa...

 Yuba Nath Lamsal In the modern Nepali poetry, Bhupi Sherchan is a brilliant personality. Bhupi is one of the most popular and celebrated poets in the modern era as he brought about a new revolution in the genius of Nepali poetry in general and prose poetry in particular. His unique style, forceful expression, simple and lucid language, clear message, sharp attack on the decayed social and cultural practices and high degree of satire have earned a high respect among the Nepali speaking population both at home and abroad. Bhupi Serchan was born in 1992 B.S. in Thakkhola, Mustang, a remote Himalayan district. His original name given by his parents is Bhupendra Man Sherchan. But he chose Bhupi after he grew up. His mother died when Bhupi was just a five-year old boy. This incident brought about a big shock in young Bhupi’s mind. Although he was well taken care by other members of his family, Bhupi always missed his mother, which made him rebellious right from his young age. He walk...

 Yuba Nath Lamsal US Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit virtually stirred a hornets’ nest inviting angry reaction from rival China further intensifying tension and tug of war between Beijing and Washington. The successive developments point to the possibility of escalation of conflict turning this area into a new flashpoint of conflict.  Pelosi is not an ordinary politician but third in US leadership position. As per the US order of succession, if offices of the president and vice president remain simultaneously vacant, the Speaker leads the Executive branch. Pelosi’s visit, therefore, is bound to have multi-faceted impacts in the region sending greater geopolitical ripples across the world. The burgeoning tension between America and China is a clear illustration of rivalry between the existing superpower and the emerging superpower for the domination in global politics. United States has been the dominant power for over seven decades since the World War II. For ...

 Yuba Nath Lamsal The 17th and 18th centuries are known as the Age of Enlightenment in Europe. The Enlightenment era produced several thinkers, philosophers, lawyers, scientists and innovators who not only questioned the validity of traditional authority but came up with new ideas, thinking and innovations. Thinkers like David Hume, Immanuel Kant, John Locke, Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Adam Smith, Baruch Spinoza, Voltaire and several others were the products of this Enlightenment era. Europe experienced some tumultuous events during this period, of which the Glorious Revolution of Britain and French Revolution are the most noted ones. Antoine Destutt de Tracy was one of the noted scholars and philosophers of France in the post-revolution era, who coined the term ideology as a science of ideas in the later part of 18th century. The French Revolution erupted like a volcano that shook entire Europe. It was a watershed in European po...

  Yuba Nath Lamsal   “Geography has made us neighbours. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder,” said former US president John F. Kennedy on the necessity of international alliance and partnership. Alliances are made both national and international level not as a choice but borne out of compulsion.   Power is the principal motive of politics. In the modern era wherein democracy has been a global lingua franca, the road to political power is popular consent which is expressed through elections. Countries having majoritarian or first past the post-election system, a particular party is generally expected to win majority, barring a few exceptions. In countries where election system is proportionate, electoral and post electoral alliances are necessity as no single party is likely to win absolute majority. Pre-election alliances are common in countrie...

  Yuba Nath Lamsal   All human activities are communication. Communication is a technique of transmitting messages, ideas and feelings in a way that is correctly received/understood by the other end. If the receiver either does not receive the message or wrongly receives, that is not communication but miscommunication. The pattern and form with which a message is understood in the same way by both the sender and the receiver is communication. The communication is executed through various means and mediums like sound, graphics, gesture, facial expression, use of signs and signals, body language and eye movement etc. This is non-linguistic or non-verbal communication. The language is the powerful and most effective instrument of communication, which is referred to as linguistic communication. [i]   Linguistic communication is accomplished at various levels—individual, government and state levels. Communication between two governments or two states is diplomacy.  Evol...