HINDI
I fail to understand why Prashant Jha ('Swearing in Hindi" #466), among others, insists that Nepali is only a Pahadi language. Why can't we say that Nepali is the national language of Nepal which also happens to be spoken by many Pahadis? Divisive columnists will divide the country. Taking an oath in Nepali in no way impinges on one's cultural identity. In fact one who aims high in life, and even otherwise in this globalised world, needs to have several identities. Why can't one be a Madhesi and a Nepali at the same time?

Rajendra,
email

* I am saddened to read this article ('Swearing in Hindi" #466) because it only serves to stoke ethnic hatred. I think the writer, along with our vice president, is yet to see the big picture. The crux of the issue is that the vice president, who is a jurist himself, defied the law from the very outset. Plus, he was taking the oath as the vice president of Nepal, as a representative of the entire Nepali populace, not just some section of it. So he is required to take the oath in the official language of Nepal, which still is Nepali according to the constitution.

Name withheld,
email

* Throughout this whole Hindi oath episode, we've missed one thing: Parmanand Jha's mother tongue is Maithili, not Hindi, yet no one has spoken out about him taking the oath in Maithili. As a Nepali, I am proud to say Maithili is the second most widely spoken language after Nepali. When will your renowned columnists recognise this fact? Or are they in league with Upendra Yadav?

Name withheld,
email

TREK RESPONSIBLY
In response to 'Climbing to keep the Himalaya alive'(#466), it's too much to expect that there would be a moratorium on trekking or climbing to protect the Himalaya from human activity. Alternately, any responsible mountaineer/trekker should be adopting eco-friendly measures to protect the fragile Himalayan environment. For example, resources should be utilised sparingly and efforts made to leave as little of an eco-footprint as possible. Serious efforts are needed to harness renewable energy sources like solar and wind and be less dependent upon biomass fuels. The efforts of Dawa Steven Sherpa in preserving the Himalayan environment are laudable.

DBN Murthy,
Lalitpur

GHOOS
Complaints about the Maoists' unofficial fund raising are probably valid but I have found personally that for the two years that they ran the government, I was rarely asked for a bribe at some of the ministries. Now that the UML is back, so are the bribes.

Name withheld,
email

A CLIMATE FOR CHANGE
I appreciate Nirvana Chaudhary's comment ('A climate for change', #466) about the impact of global warming in Nepal. But, as grim as things may be, Nepal is in a unique position to serve as a great example of a nation that celebrates sustainability. In fact we've already come a long way. We've learned to use cow dung to make gas, to use hydroelectricity and solar power panels in place of coal-powered electric plants, and we have a fairly well developed public transportation system for a developing country.

If only we stopped burning tyres, government vehicles and adulterating fuel, and restored forests and found better ways to operate brick factories, Nepal would literally be one of the greenest nations in the world.

Sushil Bogati,
USA

WOMEN IN RED
Enjoyed Mallika's Aryal's 'Reinventing Tij'(#465). The idea of women standing in front of Singha Darbar in red to force political and social change is a good one. We must take advantage of this opportunity to transform the patriarchy in Nepal that motivates festivals like Tij, where women have to fast for their husbands but not the other way around.

Mona,
UK

INSECTS
If I remember correctly Ratna Sansar Shrestha has been writing on the theme of rational hydropower planning for quite some time ('Sharing water resources',#464), yet our leaders don't seem to listen. Such disregard for important issues makes me wonder whether an insect has wider vision than our leaders.

Anupam,
email

WHAT A PITY
In 'Rinchin reaches Ulan Bator'(#465) your reporter says that the word "skoda" in Czech means "sorry". Not exactly. It's more "what a pity". But that's just a technicality, congratulations to Rinchen.

Luba Svrcina,
Prague