News, Views From Nepal

Yuba Nath Lamsal:- West Asia or the Middle East seems to be on the cusp of new crisis and conflict with the change of regime in Syria. The political developments in Syria emerged in such a lightning speed that surprised all. Even the deposed president Bashar Al Assad and also the rebel troops that forced Assad flee had not thought that the game would be up so quickly. But it happened in the lightning speed and as a result one more dictator has gone out of the political scene in the Middle East. Syria is an important country in the Middle East from geopolitical standpoint. It is located in south-eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea which is a vital lifeline for the trade between Asia and Europe. In other words, Syria used to be popularly known as the intersection of Eastern and Western civilizations. However, Syria now appears to be at the crossroads of its own existence due mainly to a long history of suppressive regime of Assad family and factional fighting among different Islam...

Yuba Nath Lamsal:- My almost 28-year stint as a journalist in The Rising Nepal daily has been a mixed experience characterised by excitement, opportunities, and challenges. Prior to joining The Rising Nepal, I had a few years of journalism experience in the private Nepali weeklies that were mouthpieces of the radical communist party of that time—the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist) or CPN-ML. The CPN-ML was later renamed as the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), or CPN-UML, after the merger of the two dominant communist parties of that time—CPN-ML, led by Madan Bhandari, and CPN-Marxist of Manmohan Adhikari. The CPN-UML, at present, is the second largest party in parliament, and its chairman leads the coalition government. I joined the TRN as a subeditor and got promoted with the passage of time to reach the highest position—the editor-in-chief of the daily—before I finally retired. During my entire career as a journalist at The Rising Nepal, I worked i...

Yuba Nath Lamsal:- Back in 400 BC, Greek philosopher Diogenes would walk around the market place of Athens with a lantern in hands in broad daylight in the search of an honest man. Finding an honest man in politics has been a difficult task right from the ancient period across the world. This has been more in the present context as the politics is guided more by personal and partisan interests rather than the interest of the larger masses. Gone are the days as Socrates once said ‘politics is a quest for justice for which rulers should be virtuous’. Now Chanakya dictum seems to be guiding the present day politics all over the world. Chanakya, back in 300 BC, was of the view that ‘a person should not be too honest as straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first’. Given the state of the present day politics all over the world, parties appear to be enterprises, while leaders are like bosses, workers salespersons and people consumers or voters. Politics has thus ...

युवनाथ लम्साल:- १३ मंसिर २०८१, बिहिबार :- प्रधानमन्त्री केपी शर्मा ओली अर्को साता मङ्सिर १७ गते चीनको पाँच दिने भ्रमणका लागि बेइजिङ प्रस्थान गर्दै छन् । चीनका प्रधानमन्त्री ली चाङको निमन्त्रणामा हुन लागेको यो भ्रमणलाई सबै क्षेत्रबाट चासो तथा उत्सुकताका साथ हेरिएको छ । प्रधानमन्त्री ओलीले आफ्नो तेस्रो कार्यकालमा अहिलेसम्मको परम्परा तोड्दै आफ्नो पहिलो औपचारिक भ्रमण चीनबाट गर्दै छन् । चार महिनाअघि प्रधानमन्त्रीको पदभार सम्हालेपछिको चीन भ्रमण पक्कै पनि पहिलो द्विपक्षीय भ्रमण हो । तर यो उनको पहिलो विदेश भ्रमण भने होइन । सेप्टेम्बरमा संयुक्त राष्ट्रसंघको महासभामा सहभागी हुन प्रधानमन्त्री ओली अमेरिका गएका थिए । भारतीय सञ्चारमाध्यमले यस भ्रमणलाई लिएर नेपालको परराष्ट्रनीति चीनतर्फ झुकेको भनेर चित्रण गरेका छन् । भारतीय सञ्चारमाध्यमले नेपाल र भारतबीचको सम्बन्ध खासगरी ओली र मोदीबीचको असहज सम्बन्धलाई पनि यस भ्रमणसँग जोडेर चित्रण गरेका छन् । यद्यपि, यो सत्य होइन । पहिलो, नेपाल एक स्वतन्त्र र सार्वभौम देश हो र नेपालका प्रधानमन्त्रीले आफूले कुन समयमा कुन देश भ्रमण गर्ने भन्ने कुरा स्वतन्त्र ...

Yuba Nath Lamsal:- Come January 20, 2025, the White House, the seat of US president, will see a change of the guard. Donal Trump will assume office as president of the United States second time replacing the incumbent Joe Biden. Trump has been declared winner but his formal inauguration as the 47th president of the United States will take place only on January 20, 2025 and will be able to implement his policies. But ripples of the American elections have already visible across the world. With hardliner Republican Trump coming to power second time with “America First” agenda, the world is watching with caution and curiosity as to what this will mean for the rest of the world. Given the track records of all US presidents, most wars were declared by Democratic presidents with exception of two Republican presidents — father Bush and son Bush. The world, thus, is expected to witness de-escalation of tensions and wars under Trump as Republican president of the United States. During th...

Yuba Nath Lamsal: Democracy has always been the most desired polity right from the beginning of human civilisation. Democracy is not merely an ideology or system but the process of decision-making for the greater good and interest of the people. Democracy has thus been a modern day’s political lingua franca across the world, which has to do more with public delivery. If regimes and governments fail to deliver and live up to the general expectations of the people, they lose the very essence of democracy. Democracy is, thus, a system of efficient and transparent functioning of the government. However, demagoguery is on the rise in different parts of the world in the name of democracy. Demagogues are trying to take advantage and dividing people in the name of race, nationalism, sex, religion and colour. Democracy is not the system that seeks to divide the people but it rather unites them. Democracy is the pluralist system under which all kinds of ideologies, races, ethnic and religious...

Yuba Nath Lamsal:- The Japan Confederation of Atomic and Hydrogen Bomb Sufferers Organisations, popularly known as Nihon Hidankyo, was awarded Nobel Peace Prize 2024 in recognition of its untiring campaign for the elimination of nuclear weapons. The Nihon Hidankyo is the Japanese organisation representing the survivors of the nuclear bombing. The Nihon Hidankyo was formed in 1956 and has been campaigning against nuclear weapons and lobbying nationally and internationally for the complete abolition of nuclear arms. Thus the decision of Nobel Committee is highly commendable. Japan is the first victim of the nuclear bomb. As the World War II was raging, the United States bombed two Japanese cities in the interval of three days. The first bomb, codenamed as the ‘Little Boy’, was dropped in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 while the ‘Fat Man’ hit Nagasaki on August 9. Two bombs instantly killed over 214,000 people and injured more than that number while caused untold collateral and enviro...

Yuba Nath Lamsal: It is said that politics is the game of possibilities and there is no certainty in politics. Anything can happen in any moment in politics. In politics, ‘stranger become bedfellow’ anytime. Thus, politics is the most unpredictable vocation. This is more so in Nepal as coalition and governments frequently change. In recent years, political polarisation is taking place recently in Nepal especially after the fall of Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda-led government and the formation of the CPN-UML-Nepali Congress coalition government headed by KP Sharma Oli. Although Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ led the government for about 19 months, he changed coalition partners three times. In the beginning, he reigned the mantle of premiership with support of UML but soon changed the partner entering into coalition with Nepali Congress. Prachanda again changed the coalition gear going again back to the arm of UML. Prachanda calls his nature of often switching the political gear as ...

Yuba Nath Lamsal: The United Nations General Assembly on December 2, 2009 adopted a resolution, declaring August 29 as the International Day against Nuclear Tests. Since then, August 29 is observed every year as the International Day against Nuclear Tests. The 29th of August was chosen to mark the anti-nuclear test day to coincide with the anniversary of the Soviet Union conducting the first nuclear test in 1949 in Semipalatinsk currently in Kazakhstan and also the day this site was permanently closed in 1991. This is also the date when Kazakhstan ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in 2019. Since then, August 29 is marked globally with appeal to all countries and people in the world to ban all kinds of nuclear tests and also cease to proliferate nuclear weapons in the world. Nine countries — the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel — are currently the nuclear powered states possessing nuclear weap...

Yuba Nath Lamsal:- For Immanuel Kant, politics is a moral vocation and morality should be the paramount concern of politics and politicians. However, that is not the case in the present day politics in the world. In the public eyes, politics, now, is viewed as an unpredictable enterprise. Politics is no longer a philanthropy but appears to be lucrative enterprise motivated by personal and partisan interest, wherein morality, values and principles have taken a back seat. This is not an isolated case of Nepal but a general trend everywhere in the world. However, this trend is more in developing and least developed countries. According to US International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, state of global democracy is on the decline. Similarly, the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU), a research wing of the Economist Group, says in its annual global democracy index that the overall state of democracy is eroding. According to EIU report, currently 45.4 per cent global popu...

YUba Nath Lamsal:- Domestic policy can defeat us but foreign policy can kill us” John F Kennedy, former president of the United States, once said amplifying the role and ramification of foreign policy on domestic politics. It is generally said that foreign policy is the extension of domestic policy. However, Kennedy’s this famous statement manifests how powerful and significant is foreign policy in setting domestic agenda. In the present globalised and inter-connected world, external events and international politics influence and impact domestic policy and politics more than ever before. Geopolitics is the study of inter-relations between geography and politics and geography’s impact on politics. In other words, geography is the principal determinant of a country’s power and leverage in the international politics with powerful impact in domestic politics. The location, geographical features within and around the country, access to sea and its nature, territorial conditions, natur...

YUba Nath Lamsal: With the formation of the new coalition government, headed by KP Sharma Oli, expectations abound nationwide. The three key areas that seek immediate attention and focus are governance, economy and foreign policy. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has also won the vote confidence in parliament with more than two-thirds majority of lawmakers. Now the Prime Minister and the government are expected to double down their efforts in addressing these three fundamental issues currently facing the country. It is said ‘well-begun is half done’. Firstly he has made the seven-point understanding reached with the Nepali Congress public in parliament, which reflects the broader outline of new government’s priorities. Secondly, Prime Minister appears to be well aware of the problems of the country and seems to be focused on addressing these problems. The Prime Minister has chosen competent and experienced persons for three key positions — finance minister, chief political advisor and e...

Yuba Nath Lamsal:-- Singha Durbar once again saw a change of guard this week with CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli sworn in as the 45th Prime Minister of Nepal, leading a Nepali Congress-CPN-UML coalition government. Maoist supremo Prachanda was sent packing by more than two-thirds of the 275-member House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, in a vote of confidence motion, thereby paving the way for Oli to rise to the seat of prime minister fourth time. While the UML and NC cadres and leaders appear to be jubilant in the wake of the change of government, the latest political twist has sent a shock wave to the rank and file of the CPN (Maoist Center) which was also reflected in the speech of Maoist supremo Prachanda in parliament in the course of facing the vote confidence. The overnight change of coalition was the making of KP Oli, about which Prachanda and his other comrades in arms did not have even the slightest hint. This speaks of how frail and feeble was the infor...

Yuba Nath Lamsal:-- The principal goal of foreign policy of any state is to protect, enhance and enlarge national interest. All countries have their defined and sometimes obscure national interests. States also determine and adopt foreign policy strategies, priorities and tools depending upon the nature of power in the immediate neighbourhood, in the region and also in the world. Foreign policy of any country, in general or at least in principle, tends to be pacific. However, big powers and hawkish states often use coercive and hard power like military intervention and economic sanction as a part of foreign policy strategy and tools. In the modern world, war is not the first choice in settling disputes in the international politics. Diplomacy and peaceful settlement through negotiation are better priorities. War is said to be the last resort in resolving disputes. However, this is not always the case. Big powers tend to be hegemonic and apply arm-twisting tactics and declare dire...

Yuba Nath Lamsal In the book ‘The Strange Death of Europe’, Douglas Murray writes “Europe is committing suicide.” By this he means the civilization as Europe is being understood worldwide is eroding. The liberal values with which Europe is best known are under assault. Rightist populism is making greater inroad in global politics. In other words fascism is slowly but steadily making a comeback in a new avatar either in the form of right-wing populism or left-wing extremism. Europe seems to be returning to pre-World War II conservative era. Europe is just a symptom but the trend is global. Factors contributing to the rightist populism are multiple. Immigration, inflation, rising cost of life, unemployment and economic downturn are said to be the key culprits creating fear in the mind of Europeans —the fear to lose their identity owing to mass inflow of immigrants to Europe from Asia and Africa. This gave rise to public disenchantment while right-wing parties and politicians have add...

Narendra Modi was sworn in as Prime Minister for the third consecutive term making this feat in India only after Jawaharlal Lal Nehru. Modi has been back to power but with a fractured mandate. The parliamentary elections held in seven phases between April 19 and June 1 once again confirmed Modi’s uninterrupted upward political trajectory. Since 2001, Modi is continuously at the helm of India’s political power — first as chief minister of Gujrat state and second as India’s Prime Minister. “This is the victory of the world’s largest democracy,” Modi said to party workers after the election results. Modi currently remains to be the most popular politician in India but popularity of his party -- the Bharatiya Janata Party -- has dwindled that did not win even a simple majority. The BJP won 282 parliamentary seats in 2014 election, which was conformable majority in 542-seat Lok Sabha, the lower house of Indian parliament. In 2019, Modi’s party was re-elected with even bigger majority of 3...