67303 BritainNepal 33 COV:55503 BritainNepal 31 COV 20/10/11 08:54 Page 2 THE BRITAIN-NEPAL SOCIETY J o u r n a l Number 33 2009 67303 BritainNepal 33 COV:55503 BritainNepal 31 COV 20/10/11 08:54 Page 4 ACORN Nepal Trust (Aid for Children of Rural Nepal and Educational Trust) Charitable Society Regd. No. 701/1999 President Rtn. Hari Bivor Karki Vice-President Prof. Dr. Bharat B. Karki Secretary Anjela Nepal Karki Treasurer Mrs. Bimala Katuwal Executive Members Dr. Yagya B. Karki Mrs. Shova Subedi Mrs. Sushila Khadka That is why we are asking those In just the last four years the If you do write or amend your who do remember, to consider monthly ‘welfare pension’ we Will to make a provision for the Hon. Members making a provision now for the pay to some 10,400 Gurkha Trust then do please let us know. Lady Morris of Kenwood time when funding and support ex-servicemen and widows has We hope it will be many years Rtn. Gerald Hughes risen from 2,500 NCR to 3,800 before we see the benefit of your for Gurkha welfare will be much Mr. Brian Mayhew NCR to try and keep pace legacy, but knowing that a harder to come by. You can do Ms. Diana Reason this by a legacy or bequest to the with inflation in Nepal. Welfare number of our supporters have Dr Abhiram Bahadur Singh Gurkha Welfare Trust in your Will. pensions alone cost the Trust £4.4 remembered the Trust in their million last year. Who knows what Wills helps so much in our This will help to ensure the the welfare pension will need to be forward planning. Thank you. Founder President long-term future of our work. in 10 or 20 years time. Main Office U.K. Contact Prof. Dr. Bharat B. Karki Rtn. H.B. Karki Balkhu, Ring Road, Kathmandu - 14 21 Victoria Road, Aldershot Tel: 279762, Post Box: 3046 Hampshire GU11 1TQ PLEASE WRITE TO: The Gurkha Welfare Trust, PO Box 2170, Fax: 977-1-282688 Tel/Fax: 01252 316058 22 Queen Street, Salisbury SP2 2EX, telephone us on 01722 323955 or e-mail [email protected] Registered charity No. 1103669 67303 BritainNepal 33 TEX:49231 Britain Nepal 30 TEX 25/1/10 14:10 Page 1 THE BRITAIN-NEPAL SOCIETY Journal Number 33 2009 CONTENTS 4 Editorial 7 The Society’s News 9 We Won – The Esther Benjamin’s Trust 14 Golden Rain 18 A Great Game Connection with Jersey 24 Darjeeling and Tea 28 Autism in Nepal 30 From the Editor’s In-Tray 35 Review article – Britain’s Gurkha War 41 Short reviews 44 Obituaries 49 The International Trust for Nature Conservation 50 Useful addresses 51 Notes on the Britain – Nepal Society 52 Officers and Committee of the Society 1 67303 BritainNepal 33 TEX:49231 Britain Nepal 30 TEX 25/1/10 14:10 Page 2 The pavilion in the Dream of the Kaiser Mahal (Kaiser Library). garden the restored Garden, 2 67303 BritainNepal 33 TEX:49231 Britain Nepal 30 TEX 25/1/10 14:10 Page 3 Mr Jhabindra Prasad Aryal, Charge d’Affaires with the chairman at the Supper. The vice chairman, Mr John Ackroyd and the secretary, Mrs Pat Mellor at the Supper. Miss Myrtle Ross at the Supper. Brig Christopher Bullock at the Museum. 3 67303 BritainNepal 33 TEX:49231 Britain Nepal 30 TEX 25/1/10 14:10 Page 4 EDITORIAL The year 2009 has been a difficult one an under-sea cabinet meeting. Not to be out politically for Nepal, as was indicated to the done, the Nepalese cabinet held a meeting Society in the lecture given to us by HE Dr on 4th December at the Everest base camp, Andrew Hall earlier in the year. Changes in a somewhat costly and potentially government will have distracted the dangerous exercise. Constituent Assembly from their task of As ever Nepal has to face both India and producing the new constitution, with China. There seems to be increasing inevitable delays. One of the major sticking Chinese involvement as they have indicated points has been the question surrounding a greater willingness to help get food and the future of the Maoist ‘fighters’ now goods to the remote northern border areas being held in UN monitored camps across by routing traffic via their main east-west the country. Negotiations to absorb some road to the north of the main Himalayan into the Nepalese Army have failed. The range, using feeder roads emanating Chief of Army Staff refused to accept this southwards into Nepalese territory. The proposition and, as a consequence, was Nepalese are increasing border security at dismissed by the Prime Minister, Pushpa the northern passes and routes into the Tibet Kamal Dahal, (aka ‘Prachanda’). His Autonomous Region. This will permit dismissal was then reversed by the greater control over Tibetans wishing to President which resulted in the Prime enter Nepal en route to India and Minister’s resignation and the withdrawal Dharamsala, the current home of the Dalai of the Maoist party from government. Mr Lama. Both the former King Gyanendra Madhav Kumar Nepal is the current PM (as and more recent political leaders have at December 2009). The Maoists then sought to woo Chinese support to imposed a blockade on Parliament which strengthen legitimacy and to off set Indian has further delayed progress and means that influence to the south. The quid pro quo has it is practically certain that the May 2010 been the tightening up over the Tibetan deadline for a new constitution will not be exiled community with the closure of the achieved. During early November it Dalai Lama’s representative’s office and the became apparent that unless Parliamentary UN-funded Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office business was resumed, the country would in 2005 by Gyanendra and the subsequent soon run out of government funds as the refusal by the Maoist government in 2008 budget had not been passed. After to reopen these offices. Issues in respect of considerable discussion the Maoists lifted the Arunachal (former North East Frontier their blockade for three days during which Agency)/ Chinese border are once again time the budget was approved. The high on the Chinese agenda since they blockade was then re-imposed. The current claim this as Chinese territory. India with UN mandate will run out in January 2010. her own Maoist problems, will wish to Since UNMIN has not yet fully achieved its minimize problems coming out of purpose, it would seem that an extension is Kathmandu. All these competing pressures likely and negotiations are under way at the have a strong influence on the direction of time of drafting. Climate change is of great ‘Himalayan politics’. importance to Nepal as everywhere else. To Notwithstanding political life in Nepal, highlight the Copenhagen climate there is this autumn a high level of tourist conference, the Maldives government held activity. Hotels are recording high 4 67303 BritainNepal 33 TEX:49231 Britain Nepal 30 TEX 25/1/10 14:10 Page 5 occupancy rates and tourists one meets all annual championships, held on Meghauli seem to have had enjoyable experiences. airstrip in Chitwan, attracted much attention Looking ahead some problems would from the British press, highlighting Nepal appear to be looming. Relatively little rain as an important tourist destination. He was fell during the monsoon and already this is also the driving force behind the setting up affecting electricity supplies with load of the International Trust for Nature shedding in place. Likewise drinking water Conservation (ITNC), a conservation will become scarcer. There are always organisation which has been able to threats of strikes and bhands by Maoist concentrate on projects that did not activists which could affect movement necessarily fit the remit of the large global around the country, both road and air and trusts. A full obituary, written by Marcus hotel staff. Much will depend upon how the Cotton, a colleague and friend is elsewhere politicians resolve their differences over the in the journal. coming months. Another erstwhile member from the A Society as old as ours, approaching its early 1960s, Tom Spring-Smyth also died in golden jubilee, inevitably loses its founder mid year. The late fifties and early sixties in and senior members as the years go by. Nepal were what I term the ‘Han Su Yin’ or This year is no exception. We were sad to ‘post Han Su Yin period’ (See footnote.). It learn that Jim Edwards, of Tiger Tops fame, was the age of pioneering there, at least for a life member of the Society, had died in westerners. It was the age of Boris March. I had had the good fortune to meet Lissanevitch at the Royal Hotel, Father him in Kathmandu in mid 1962, when we Marshall Moran at St Xaviers School and both arrived in Nepal at about the same Toni Hagen, the Swiss geologist and time. The expat community in those days explorer. Tom, a retired military engineer, was very small so I was glad to get to know was working for the UN on the early someone of my own age on my visits to feasibility work for the Karnali hydro- Kathmandu from Dharan. Our paths electric project. Tom was a keen crossed quite often over the succeeding horticulturist and travelled widely looking years with our children attending the same for plants. Members will recall the outing in prep school. Jim was initially famous for 2000 to the Hillier Arboretum hosted by his work in making Tiger Tops an iconic Tom to see the Gurkha Memorial Garden location in for wildlife tourism in Nepal.