688 3 - 9 January 2014 20 Pages Rs 50
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#688 3 - 9 January 2014 20 pages Rs 50 HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT: Elephants try to fl ick the ball past each other at the 10th Chitwan Elephant Festival in Sauraha on Monday. DANCING FOR THE GODS Bharatnatyam artist Sulochana Gopali used to spend hours inside her bedroom copying the dance moves from her favourite films while her friends played hide-and- seek. After performing in India, Europe, and all 75 districts of Nepal, Gopali now wants to revive Nepal’s classical dance forms and pass the THE WARS OF OTHERS knowledge to the next generation. he new year marks heartlands in central and coverage shows, the lessons PAGE two war centennials in eastern Nepal were emptied of from 200 years ago are just as DOUBLE 7 TNepal. 200 years ago, their young men as the British relevant for Nepal today as it CENTENNIAL an expanding Gorkha Empire shipped them from Flanders was then. If empires went to EDITORIAL PAGE 2 clashed with the East India Field to Mesopotamia and war over tea and cotton in the ON Company and lost almost Gallipoli to Palestine. past, today’s prime commodity half of its territory and kept In the 100 years since, more is labour that migrates outwards 50 YEARS THE its sovereignty. Nepalis went and fought wars from poorer countries. And AFTER TIBET RAID FAST And a century later in for the British in Europe (again), unless a state protects its PAGE 1914, over 200,000 Nepali Burma, Malaya, Borneo, Iraq citizens and provides for their 4 TRACK men set sail to Europe and Afghanistan, as history future, the world outside will after Kathmandu’s elite came a full circle from the continue taking advantage. 200 YEARS PAGE 11 gambled on British victory Anglo-Afghan wars in which Unfortunately for us, Nepal’s OF LAHURES in a European war. Gurung, Gurkha regiments took part. diplomatic acumen and foreign Magar, Rai, and Limbu As our special military policy remain much the same. PAGE 15-17 BIKRAM RAI 2 EDITORIAL 3 - 9 JANUARY 2014 #688 DOUBLE CENTENNIAL JON APPEL JON he new year marks two war centennials in Afghanistan more than a century later as a part of Nepal: the 200th anniversary of the Anglo- the British NATO forces in Helmand today. TNepal War of 1814-16 and the start of the As our special coverage of the two centennials First World War 100 years ago in 1914. In the first, in this issue shows (see Page 15-17), the ambition an expansionist Gorkha Empire clashed with the and greed of powerful men write the history of British East India Company and in the second, nations and sow suffering for peoples. The British Nepalis paid a heavy price for supporting the Allied East India Company didn’t go to war with Nepal so war effort in Europe. much for territory, but for trade. It needed control The Sugauli Treaty of 1816 allowed Nepal to over the trans-Himalayan passes to Tibet. And after remain independent, but at the cost of losing one- it had hacked off the region west of the Mahakali third of its territory, allowing a British resident River, the Company had access to the high passes in Kathmandu, and permitting recruitment of its over the Himalaya and saw no need to conquer and soldiers into the British Army. Later, Nepal’s Rana keep, what even then, looked like an ungovernable rulers became Anglophiles, adopting the lifestyles state. of the English nobility and building lavish palaces. But the terms of the treaty that preserved They sent Nepali soldiers to help the British quell Nepal’s nominal sovereignty, altered our nation’s the Indian Mutiny of 1857 and deployed them in boundary and history and started the tradition of the colonial campaigns to pacify pesky tribes on the Gurkha recruitment that continues to this day. Afghan frontier. Incongruous as it may seem in this day and age As a direct legacy of the Sugauli Treaty, more that the citizens of one country should be laying than 20,000 Nepali soldiers in the British Indian down their lives for the sake of another, the lessons Army ended up being killed a century later in the from 1814 and 1914 are as relevant today as they trenches of Flanders Field in Belgium, in the quagmire were then. at Gallipoli, and in the deserts of Mesopotamia. One The ambition and greed The first lesson is economic: small countries are in every 10 young Nepali men recruited didn’t make it of powerful men write the mere pawns in the world of globalised trade and each back home. At a time when Nepal’s population was only country needs its own strategy to take full advantage 5.6 million, up to 200,000 young men were fighting and history of nations and sow from this lopsided relation to spur growth and create dying in some far-off land for a cause not their own. And suffering for peoples jobs. If it was tea, cotton or shahtoosh 200 years ago, since many of them were from specific ethnicities, entire the commodity today is labour. Four coffins arriving communities in the remote mountains of Nepal lost their in ‘theatres’ in Italy, North Africa, Burma, and Malaya. at Kathmandu airport everyday is a wartime casualty men. Many of them were sons of soldiers who had been killed rate. Thirty years later, the world was engulfed in war in World War I. The second lesson is political: a nation is only taken again. Nearly 250,000 Nepali soldiers again went down Nepal’s soldiers first fought Maoist guerrillas not in seriously if it is united, if it cares how it is perceived to Calcutta to join troopships sailing off to Europe and their own backyard from 1996-2006, but in the jungles by the outside world, if its people take pride in their South-east Asia. Another 30,000 Nepali soldiers in of British Malaya in the early 1960s. And in an example shared history, if its rulers protect citizens and provide the British Army died during the Second World War of history coming a full circle, Gurkhas have returned to for their future. ON THE WEB www.nepalitimes.com TO DO LIST that wasn’t broken and failed whose only qualifi cation is that they large number of seats in UP and was blown away not only by the on A check-list for Nepali politics, miserably at it. are daughters/wives/mother-in- Maharashtra in the upcoming stage performance, but how much let’s not kid ourselves (‘To do list’, SS laws of powerful men or that they general elections (‘For the aam the audience was enjoying itself. Editorial, #687). Our leaders make donated/are capable of donating large aadmi’, Ajaz Ashraf, #687). Your message of peace, unity, and and break deadlines on will and as PR FOR PR sums of money. Even if there are Yes, the Congress and BJP will quality education for our children the events of the past month have The same politicians, who had 300 women in the 601-strong CA, I constantly pose problems and try is as pertinent as ever and hope proved (once again), they have promised to respect the public wouldn’t necessarily call it inclusive to thwart the AAP government, but you continue with the good work for no respect for the public mandate. mandate, are once again failing us or progressive if highly-qualifi ed and it seems Kejriwal and his team are many, many years to come. If the Election Commission is as and we are fools for trusting them deserving female leaders are being prepared to lead cautiously. The Sangita persistent as it was about the 19 (‘PR for PR’, Trishna Rana, #687). Six kept out of BICC hall. AAP shouldn’t worry too much November polls, then perhaps we weeks after elections, the Proportional Mahila about its length of stay in power, The concert in Kathmandu might have local elections in 2014, Representation lists are just being instead it should focus exclusively Valley was terribly managed. Tens but hoping for a new constitution decided. Maybe we could borrow I absolutely agree with the writer on how to fulfi l the promises it of thousands of fans went to Patan within a year is stretching it a little Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi on the need to modify our PR system. made to the 10 million citizens of Darbar Square to see the concert, too far. Party from Delhi for a few years to set In Nepal, a closed list ballot would Delhi. yet there was no crowd control. Renu Shrestha our politics right. work best. People will be voting for Anonymous Many were injured in the stampede Gaya parties, but the ranked list will tell at the end. I personally feel relieved How spineless are the senior them exactly in which order and I watched Kejriwal’s swearing- to have gotten out alive. The sound leaders of the Congress and UML, Even after a third extension to which candidate is going to win. More in ceremony at the Ramlila system was horrible, the music could to let Pushpa Kamal Dahal walk the deadline, 19 out of 30 parties, importantly, both the closed and open Maidan live on tv and despite my be barely heard from a 100 feet. all over them? Dahal, on the other and only the UML from the big three, ballots will save time, because the initial reservation about the AAP, The fi nal show could have been hand, has shown without a speck have managed to submit their PR lists parties will have to submit their lists I must admit it was a very moving phenomenal; instead it ended up a of doubt how little he cares about before 30 December.