NOTHING FOR US

I write not as a political analyst, but as a frustrated Nepali who, day after day, sees blaming and finger-pointing, but no concrete action. So many fundamental issues need to be addressed to take our country out of political instability and poverty, yet the political parties have the same old answers: we weren't consulted on this, people are doing whatever they please. There is banda after banda. And where is 'democracy' when parties deem it necessary to "take action" against anyone who blames them in part for the country's woes. The eight parties have become this all-knowing, righteous body which terms anything it does not like unconstitutional. But even amongst them are people who have faced the same charges they're pressing against others now, such as corruption and misuse of power.

I know we are in a transitional phase, and that we citizens bear as much responsibility to make things work as the politicians do. But they give us nothing to work with or debate upon. What is their vision for a new Nepal? What do we do about education, unemployment, the economy, victims of the war, poverty? We want vision, strategies, maturity, and honesty. Merely erasing the word 'royal' from every phrase that ever existed won't take care of our problems.

Sujala Pant,
Thimphu

INCLUSION

It was amazing to see Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula take moral responsibility for the death of 29 people in tarai, but utter no word on the issue of his resignation. The minister also acknowledged the deceased as martyrs, though the government has still not declared them as such. What irony: the man instrumental in the loss of so many precious lives proclaims those very people "sahid". And refuses to step down. Had he resigned, things wouldn't have boiled over. On whom will the onus fall if the same agitating forces were to go back to confrontation and more people were to die?

PB Rana,
email

. Every year we get to commemorate 7 Falgun as Democracy Day, and you usually write a cautious editorial on safeguarding the freedom of the people. I don't see much progress this year on the democratic front, despite Jana Andolans I and II. Everyone seems to dwell on our past glory and do nothing about the future. How does one translate the rhetoric into a workable democratic order where there is rule of law and civic tolerance, and a free media that can caution the leaders and public alike on the pitfalls common to Third World democratic and revolutionary movements? A New Nepal has kicked off with a bad start. Look at the endless petrol lines, the jaundiced cabinet, a well-meaning prime minister's commitment to BP Koirala's vision and democratic ideals sabotaged by some of his closest advisers, and a foreign aid community that is confused about which among Nepal's thousands of 'rights-based, inclusive democracy-practicing' I/NGOs to support. The eight parties ought to pay attention to the mandate of Jana Andolan II mandate and start delivering on what currently sound like empty promises.

Surya B Prasai,
email

. JB Pun Magar's article ('The janajatis are trying to replicate the tarai uprising', #336) caught my attention. I have long felt the need for a janajati party and have written about it at www.madhesi.net. The janajatis need to stop asking for favours from pahadi bahuns in the big parties, and organise to prove their weight through the ballot box. The party should have a neutral name and a social justice agenda, but the founding leadership should be clearly janajati-dominated and reflect the diversity within janajati communities. The manifesto should be written with all of Nepal in mind, but for now a clear commitment to a federal republic and a clear map for a proposed federal model will be enough. Developing the party and its organisation will do more for janajati empowerment than organising chakka jams.

B Paramendra,
email

BAN BANDAS

Thank you for your Quote of the Week from Pasang Sherpa, chairman of the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (From the Nepali Press, #336), in which he threatened violence if the government did not address janajati demands. It made me ponder thus: since the Uprising in April 2006, observers of the political situation in Nepal have shifted between optimism, frustration, and disappointment.

Many still see this as a time of necessary transition. Such a multitude of inequalities needs to be addressed that each group sees now as the time to stand up for its rights and summon others to support its cause. Hence bandas: to make a political statement, assert rights, gain recognition, and whip up support.

The fact that it is an undemocratic method of political activity is never openly acknowledged. Others have, it is felt, made gains small and large by using undemocratic forces and methods. And so no one blinks when a banda is called.

Yet it is a form of terror-observe the banda or else. No leader questions the right of any group to call a banda. It is not the Nepali way. It may be that, at some point in the future, a Truth and Reconciliation Committee will encourage us all to accept responsibility for accepting the culture of 'banda'. There is a saying, 'evil does not prosper because men do evil, but because good men do nothing'. I look forward to the day when good men (and women) speak up against bandas and assert the rights of political parties to be heard without the threat of violence and terror. Until such time, true democracy will not be entrenched in the Nepali way of life and its politics.

Patrick Leahy,
Kupondole

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Aruna Uprety ('It's expensive being poor in Nepal', #336) raises an issue that is extremely important, given the poor health of our children and low economic indicators. One correction: Ramesh Kanta Adhikari is a professor in the Department of Child Health at the Institute of Medicine as well as a practicing paediatrician.

Ganesh Chaudhary,
MD, email

UNAMUSED

Re: 'UN-amused' (Eyes Wide Shut, #336)-Sheetal Kumar writes well and brings into focus the reality that the UN sometimes evades. If only they'd listen to his suggestions, the world would be a better place. I also enjoyed Ashutosh Tiwari's column ('Guru of business', Strictly Business, #336). The punchline is classic, and I feel like the Nepali janata is having the last laugh, at least in theory, perhaps in reality, years down the line.

Name withheld,
email

BOLLYWOOD

Re: Ashutosh Tiwari's 'Guru of business'. I used to watch Bollywood movies when I was young and they made me feel stupid, and depressed me for days. I'd ask myself why I even watched such nonsense, wasting valuable time. In this so-called New Nepal, I do not see much hope if inspiration is to come from such well-established stupidity.

S Ray,
email

. Thanks to Ashutosh Tiwari and his line: 'Pushpa Kamal Dahal should go watch a film or two'. The writer appeals to Nepal's political forces (not only the Maoists) to see how the path to prosperity looks today. I urge those in responsible positions to promote the entrepreneurial spirit based on the self-interest of hardworking individuals. Thank you for analysing the force behind business and economic success.

Anjan Panday,
email

HEPATITIS VACCINE

Staff from Kathmandu Poly Clinic in Old Baneshwor have been going door-to-door with a loudspeaker for the last few days getting residents of Dhobighat to sign up for a hepatitis B vaccination program. They visited our house and handed out a leaflet outlining the dangers of the disease and nine possible modes of transmission, including kissing, eating contaminated food, or by coming into contact with infected phlegm or breath. I thought the illness could only be transmitted through blood or infected bodily fluids, and not by touching, eating with, or kissing carriers. The Hepatitis B Foundation clearly states that the disease "is NOT transmitted casually. It cannot be spread through sneezing, coughing, hugging or eating food prepared by someone who is infected with hepatitis B".

Is the Kathmandu Poly Clinic acting in good faith when it makes people up for a course of three shots at Rs 175 each, or making money by inflating the risk? What does the World Health Organisation recommend, as their seal of approval is on the leaflet? Kathmandu's residents need to be able to make informed decisions and vaccinate themselves and their families for the right reasons.

Mark Turin,
Dhobighat

KEEPING SECRETS

Anonymous columnists are annoying, to say the least. But I can see why Foreign Hand and the Auntie would want to keep their identities secret. After all, one skewers the bad things about this country with a razor edge last displayed by a foreigner in 1970, and the other calls things like she sees them. She's hilarious, but cuts too close to home sometimes. Certain women, single largely by choice (especially those above a certain age) don't want our annoyances, deals with the devil, or insecurities bandied about.

GG,
email