BP thinks India looms large in manoeuvering to drive a wedge between the Nepali Congress and the Royal Palace. There are three days with no entries in these pages from BP's prison diary, and there is no explanation. But since he has been worried about his health, it could be he was indisposed again.

2 March, 1977
Sundarijal
Not feeling well. Blood in the sputum, which I sent for culture. This persistent cough with blood which appears in the sputum occasionally is definitely not a good sign-more so when it is accompanied with night sweating. Didn't feel like doing anything.

In the forenoon the major came with the electrician and a carpenter-electrician for some repair work and the carpenter to take the measure of our windows and doors where they propose to fix wire netting to prevent flies, mosquitoes and insects from coming in. Why this concern for our comfort? We had asked for mosquito nets, as mosquitoes started appearing about three days ago. Rather than supply us with nets, they must have argued why not make a permanent arrangement with wire netting over all points of ingress of the room. Then we must start our guess work. What does it mean? Does it mean a prolonged period of detention? This is what GM thinks.

Day before GM asked the major if it would be possible for him to see his daughters through the chinks in the main gate-a kind of regular interview. GM is concerned about them obviously, otherwise he wouldn't have made this request by way of a suggestion. I told him that it wasn't proper on his part to ask the major for that kind of irregular favour. Perhaps he has realized the mistake. The worst part of such a request is that while it has no chance of being granted, it creates an impression of our weak resolve. Moreover it is not in keeping with out dignity. I couldn't understand how GM could even think of such an idea-he who is so particular about dignity and status. I have found him very understanding and conscious of his position as a leader. He cares for my dignity also. He doesn't like that I should be friendly with the officer here-I cannot adopt an attitude of superiority and aloofness with whoever comes in contact with me. This is my nature. But GM thinks that to preserve our standing with out own people and with our opponents we must be a little aloofish, more so with our opponents.

In the evening medicines came-the worthwhile one is Avil cough expectorant-other medicines are tonics and vitamins.

3-5 March, 1977
[No entries]

6 March, 1977
Sundarijal
We got two days' newspapers- ie, Saturday and Sunday Gorkhapatra and Rising Nepal today-they brought a flutter in our otherwise peaceful, almost dead, atmosphere by the proceedings of Dhankuta Pancha Conference which is published in them. Day before the papers had carried the news of the conference which was addressed by Tulsi Giri. Giri's statement didn't contain anything new so far as we are concerned except that law would take its own course and that the government wouldn't tolerate any attempt from any quarter to disturb the established political order and the values-whether such attempts were made by the people on them was on their instigation of any foreign power. What struck me of more important consequence in his statement was his obvious effort to convince the conference audience, or perhaps the people in general that the system was now too firmly entrenched to be shaken by such minor events as our return to Nepal and that the late king hadn't introduced this system as a stop-gap-interim-arrangement, and that no one should feel shaky about his position if he reposed full trust in the wisdom of the king.

The telling fact about his statement is his arguments for convincing the audience about the stability of the system. Why is the need for this reiteration? Anyway, what created a flutter today were the statements of Surya B Thapa, Nageshwar Pd Singh, Peshal Pokhrel etc and a resolution adopted in the conference both condemning us in a most unrestrained language and suggesting maximum punishment to be given to us. Why this outburst of anger-simulated rage-against us? What is of importance to know is whether it is inspired by the king, who happened to be in Dhankuta, the venue of the conference. The one intriguing fact in this is the people who brought this resolution and spoke on it-they are all pro-Indian-on league with Surya Pd, particularly Thapa and Peshal. Why should the king be interested in making a political ballyhoo about us when we are at his disposal and our case is sub-judice? The one element which is apprehensive of an agreement between us and the king is India and the supporters of the resolution are particularly men of India. So my feeling is that it is a manoeuvre of India through Thapa. GM thinks that if the palace hadn't been interested, the resolution wouldn't have been passed by the conference. There is a point in his argument but I feel that it is a success of India's manoeuvre rather than the king's.