have been reading the online edition of Nepali Times for a few years. I would like to congratulate CK Lal for his excellent analysis of various situations inside and outside Nepal. He has his detractors, and I personally may not agree with all of his views, but I do accept that his presentation is of high standard. The first thing I read in Nepali Times is his column. And one of the best aspects of his writing is that he tries to be fair and is an advocate of a more just society.

Bhesh Bhandari,
University of Queensland Australia

. One reads CK Lal's columns week after week for neither intellectual edification, nor for intelligent commentary but for its intrinsic entertainment value, and here CK Lal hits a home run every week. "Have a Party" (#128) is no exception. He pulls no punches at the object of his white-hot wrath and condescension: The great Nepali "elite" class. Whatever his definition du-jour of "elite" may be, CK Lal insinuates that they are pro-king and therefore anti-democracy, and are quick to assign blame at the politicians for all of society's ills, all the while extremely loathe to get their own hands dirty. The implication being that either one supports the political parties whole-heartedly despite their mockery of the laws and the constitution (which ironically, they authored in partnership with the king) and a total betrayal of public trust, or one is judged to be against democracy and rights-for-all. He then goes on to make a giant leap of faith by equating party-building with nation-building. As any fair-minded person will concur: While the political parties grew like wild mushrooms in the last 12 years, nation building and other matters of national priority affecting the majority of Nepali people, were relegated to the back-burner.

Finally, I don't know if I fit CK Lal's definition of an "elite", but I am certain that CK Lal fits his own profile. I don't know about "true-blue", or "with-it" (actually most "true-blue" are more likely to be "without-it" than "with-it"), but as a common Nepali who is invited on junkets from Paris to Hyderabad, looks disdainfully at "beer-guzzling" passengers on airplane flights, can boast his own one-on-one sesions with His Majesty the King, and has his own weekly column in an influential newspaper to pontificate from a high horse to voice his weekly polemics against the "elite", qualifies in my book for the title of-you guessed it-an "elite".

Bishwa Basnet,
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