TARAI
So much time has passed and yet there's no respite in the problem faced by the people of the Tarai. Instead of things becoming better, lawlessness and anarchy is increasing. Prashant Jha's piece ('The centre can't hold,' #440) is the vivid portrayal of what is actually happening out there. The Tarai has lost its guardian and the state has turned deaf and blind towards its problem. The so-called Tarai leaders have forgotten their duty towards their region. In the name of rights of the people, the plains are becoming fertile ground for criminal activities whose mere intention is to amass as much wealth as possible. The saddest part of all this is that the government is nowhere to be seen in the Tarai. Is this a deliberate attempt by the state to let criminals flourish? For those in Kathmandu who think that they can continue to live comfortable lives while the Tarai burns, they seem to forget that Tarai politics is closely linked with Nepali economy. People are feeling insecure in their own land, how long can that be tolerated?

Akesh Jaiswal,
Gujarat

* This is in response to the recent declaration of 8,000 martyrs by the Maoists: the government acting in irrational ways just to garner populist support is not new to Nepal. We have 601 CA members, 8,000 additional martyrs and 330 million gods. May they help us.

Praswas Shakya,
USA

ANGRY GODS
Kishor Rimal's 'The gods are angry' (#440) is a poignant piece illustrating the realness of climate change. It is ironical it is that Himali people who are the least responsible for climate change are the ones suffering the consequences. And then you turn the page and begin reading 'Organic growth' and you cannot help but wonder at the carbon footprint of those organic veggies being shipped all the way to Singapore. There is an inescapable relation between the melting glaciers and the organic movement, where vegetables and fruits get shipped across oceans and continents to the 'health food' section but their high price does not account for the cost to the environment of burning fossil fuel during transport. This is why the latest movement is going 'local' than 'organic'. Eating local foods means access to fresher foods, burning less fuel and supporting the local farmers, not to mention that it is also possible to convince your local farmer to begin organic farming. I am not against the organic movement, and congratulate Hans and Cynthia for their admirable endeavour, but it is important to draw the link between flying fruits and veggies around and the world and receding glaciers in the Rolwaling.

Priya Joshi,
email

MONKEY BUSINESS
There goes Nepali Times with another politically correct polemic about banning the export of rhesus monkeys ('Monkey business', #440). Vaccines that have saved the lives of millions of children around the world today would not have been possible without lab testing on animals. The research into HIV vaccines is only possible with bio-medical tests on lab animals like rhesus monkeys. The animals are not from the wild, but bred in captivity as lab animals. It is hard to see how anyone who values human life could have anything against this. Animal rights activists are showing fascist tendencies.

Govind Gurung,
email

* Congratulations to groups like Roots and Shoots for spearheading the campaign to stop the export of Nepal's rhesus macaques to the US for testing bio-terrorism agents. It is not just cruelty against animals that is at issue here, it is also a travesty for a country that reveres monkeys as incarnations of Hanuman to export them for money.

Lina Sorensen,
email

* So, Nepalis are so jealous about monkeys getting to emigrate to the US that they want to stop them. That figures.

KJ,
email