CK Lal's 'A king can't do wrong' (#181) raised interesting points about the responsibilities of a king towards his 'subjects'. Despite the 'we' this and 'we' that, he couldn't make his attitude towards his people any plainer by deciding to lavish money on expensive cars and over-the-top increases in pocket money. At this time! This man has an agenda. Replacing one generic government-type with another ad infinitum will not improve Nepal's lot. So, the students have a point, and if they take the next step by getting focused and prepared to actively participate in the process of running the country instead of limiting themselves to running around in the streets, things will change. Change from within. Who else is there? Education is not exactly taxing, and there are no jobs waiting for them, so they have the energy and time. Students have done this quite effectively even in developed countries, and the desire for change openly expressed by the Nepali student movement is the only breath of fresh air and certainly a step in the right direction.

Claus Schunke,
email

. We couldn't agree with more with your sharp and cogent editorial on the people being treated like pawns ('Pawns', #183). Everytime there is a Nepali killed, a family forced to move out of their village, schools forced to close, or people abducted, it is one more instance of the people being made to suffer because of the power struggle at the centre. Why should the people be punished if the political forces can't agree? It has become a part of our political culture that every time a rival is in power, you force the country down by declaring a banda and make the people suffer just so you can score points. Grow up, you politicians. As you rightly say: "Throughout all this, it is only the people who are showing any sanity or sense of responsibility." This is why the people are not joining the political parties' protests and the student unions, because they don't trust their motives. This is why they are not coming out overwhelmingly in support of the king, because they think he has an authoritarian agenda. And the reason they may have second thoughts about coming out on the streets to protest Maoist atrocities is because Ganesh Chiluwal has shown them what happens to people who disagree with the Maoists. The people don't want to have anything to do any of these so-called rulers who want to reign over their dead bodies, and we would like to think that the reason they stayed home and didn't go to work for two banda days this past week was because they are totally fed up with this sad circus that passes for Nepali politics.

Nila KC and Laxmi Shrestha,
Dhulikhel