Pranav Budathoki's ('Nepalis go underground in Britain', #230) allegation that The Reading Nepali Society, Reading, UK is divided is entirely false. We have associations based on the multiplicity of ethnicity but Reading Nepali Society has over the years cherished being a common association of all Nepalis, including Bahuns, Chhetris and Newars, living here with the aim of preserving Nepali tradition and culture. We celebrate festivals and events such as the Nepali and English new years, dasain, tihar and tij together to promote Nepaliness rather than what Budathoki referred to by saying 'divided'. Last tihar, we sang bhailo and deusi together, visiting each other to exchange best wishes. In Lhosar, all Nepalis, even those who wouldn't normally celebrate it back home, are invited. It is beyond our understanding what Budathoki meant by 'divided' and where he saw division per se. We are more united, firm and established together. We assume that if Budathoki had attended any of our programs, he would have certainly seen our solidarity, though belonging to different ethnic communities. He is always welcome to observe our events as a Nepali brother. We hope that the Nepali Times as a reputed paper will examine facts before publishing articles like this in the future.

Arjun Basnet,
Reading Nepali Society, Reading, UK