AUGUST 8, 2004 18 Ticket To Korea By Satish Jung Shahi VOL. I, NO. 16 Widespread use of lotteries to select COVER: Uttam Nepal workers for overseas positions could www.nation.com.np plug the loopholes both government officials and employment agencies use to make big money 26 No Comebacks By John Narayan Parajuli Bhutans decade-long tactic of procrastination may have paid off 28 A Failed Aid By Sunil Pokhrel The Tenth Plan target to promote condoms to 35 percent of the population between 14 and 50 years of age looks impossible COVER STORY HUMOR 32 Umas Manifesto 20 Not Above Law BySwarnim Waglé By John Narayan Parajuli Lets start a bloodless Wagles conviction could break the culture of impunity revolution, beginning on the Interview:Kul Shekar Sharma, President, Transparency International Nepal august date of Gai Jaatra OPINION: Deuba In The Dock by R.K.Regmee, Author of Firing the Corruption ARTS & SOCIETY COLUMNS PROFILE 34 Gossip Sells By Sushma Joshi 11 Peace Before Polls 42 The Hand With The Director Meera Nair has BySuman Pradhan Scalpel jumped on the gossip is the web CPN-UML is right in pointing out By Siddhartha Basnett and Yashas Vaidya of life bandwagon. that without a stable peace, polls are Dr. Paleswan Joshi Lakhey, the first impractical Nepali woman to become a general 36 Hitler With A surgeon Harmonium 30 Promoting Media By Sanjeev Upretyi Freedom Joshi Sir ruled the high school with an LIFESTYLE By Pratyoush Onta iron hand; Hitler was his hero Journalism has taken a severe beating 47 Upwardly Mobile 38 Cold Comfort By Satish Jung Shahi DEPARTMENTS By Deepak Thapa The vast majority of the 180,000-plus If the checkpoints are meant to mobile phones are in the hands of 6 LETTERS ordinary people who are living the prevent the Maoists from smuggling 10 PICTURE OF THE WEEK arms into the citadel of Kathmandu, mobile lifestyle 14 CAPSULES the strategy is definitely flawed SPORTS 16 BIZ BUZZ 40 Unrealistic 44 CITY PAGE Expectations 50 Not Sporting 52 SNAPSHOTS By Daniela A. Ponce By Raman Shrestha Are Nepalis waiting for a Gandhi, or a The countrys two main sports bodies 56 KHULA MANCH: ROBIN SHARMA Mandela to one day surface and make are in the news again and for all the 57 BOOKS: FIVE POINT SOMEONE wrong reasons. things better for everyone? 58 LAST WORD 5 Letters Ke Garne? The culture shock is mutual! HIMALI THAPA Ke Garne? is not all belong to a rare, non-existent species; I FIND JOHN CHILDS TONE IN KE girls would not get an education; women Garne? (Cover Story, Opinion, Au- would not be wearing trousers and gust 1) condescending. With due re- riding around in mopeds and scooters; spect to his American brain and the young would not be chatting with American education, which he refers others of a different caste and sometimes to as effective tools in identifying and even marrying them in the process; the solving problems, I consider his edu- Blue Diamond Society would be burned cation incomplete if he cannot apply at the Hindu stake and the list of socio-economic relativism other changes continues! than fatalism in his analysis of the Perhaps, the writer does not consider situation in Nepal. It is high time such urban changes (as mentioned above) Child and the likes discarded Fatalis- worthy of inclusion in his sweeping tic Theories to explain the develop- analysis of the stuck-in-a-fatalistic- ment process in Nepal. It gets old af- mire Nepal. ter a while when every second analyst Now how about a Ke Garne? latches on to Hinduism, Buddhism, analysis of the United States? Accord- Karma and Caste-ism to prop up their ing to George Bush (and regardless of reasons for Nepals failure to progress other views), the United States was/is at the breakneck speed of developed destined to be the eradicator of evil nations. I suppose the revered Dor Bahadur Bista is to be blamed for giv- ing currency to Fatalism as being the sole reason for all things that do not work in Nepal. The analysis of Ke Garne? seems to be the last straw that many intellectuals hang on to when they have nothing logical to say. If ac- cording to Child, Fatalism and Karma did apply to everything in Nepal: The Maoist Movement would not have existed today; Nepal would still be asphyxiating in Rana Rule for more than just those 104 years; Panchas and Panchayat would still be holding abso- lute sway; urban migration would be non-existent; frequent load-shedding would be hounding our lives (like it did in my school days when studying in candlelight was the norm!); English would not be spoken or taught in schools; Nepali career women would 6 AUGUST 8, 2004 | nation weekly and terrorism at any cost. Didnt his One of the hallmarks of a civilized holiness call for prayers and Christian society is the regard for rules, norms strength before embarking on his and discipline. These values have to be Nation Weekly, The Media House, Tripureshor, Shock and Awe mission of salvation? inculcated in citizens right from school Kathmandu, Nepal (Regd. 113/059-060). Tel: 2111102, 4229825, 4261831, 4263098 9/11 was not fated to happen but the itself. Only an emphasis on rights with- EDITOR: Akhilesh Upadhyay Iraq War was predestined by the pre- out stress on civic sense and duties [email protected] emptive strike. All people are equal but would make any form of society CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Suman Pradhan COPY EDITOR: John Child some are less so than others: Gay mar- ungovernable. Thus, if some norms SENIOR STAFF WRITERS: Sushma Joshi, Satish Jung Shahi, Tiku Gauchan riage is not legal in the United States like seatbelt wearing can be made STAFF WRITER: John Narayan Parajuli (the Bible does not condone it!). Medi- mandatory, there is no reason why PHOTOJOURNALISTS: Sagar Shrestha, Das Bahadur Maharjan DESIGNER: Raj Kumar Shrestha care has sent many a senior citizen to others cannot be too. It is apparent EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS: Indra Adhikari, Yashas Vaidya an early grave. Enron has sent many that traffic awareness weeks need to AD & CIRCULATION DIRECTOR: Krishna Shrestha more! Education/Educational facilities be observed seven days a week and 52 OPERATING MANAGER: Ashish Bhattarai MARKETING EXECUTIVES: Sarita Gautam, Rameshwor Ghimire are an afterthought: Many U.S. public weeks a year. Besides raising aware- [email protected] SUBSCRIPTION OFFICER: Bipin Raj Ojha schools cannot boast of updated aca- ness and warnings through the public [email protected] demic course books, let alone air-con- and private media, a system of checks ASST. SUBSCRIPTION OFFICER: Jeshna Karmacharya DISRIBUTION: Angiras Manandhar ditioned school rooms and well- and balances is required through strict MARKETING CONSULTANT: Kreepa Shrestha equipped libraries. Inner-city kids are enforcement of rules. The traffic po- CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Nripendra Karmacharya still being sold street drugs by white- lice should fine pedestrians violating PUBLISHER: The Mirror Media Pvt. Ltd collared drug pushers while the au- the rule of the roadat overhead AD ENQUIRIES: Tel. 4229825, 4261831, 4263098 thorities plead ignorance and the list bridges, zebra crossings or those COLOR SEPARATION: ScanPro, Pulchowk, 5548861, 5552335 is long! caught jay walking. Fines should also PRINTING: Variety Printing Press, 4278869 DISTRIBUTION: R.B. News, 4232784, 4244679 Ke Garne? The culture shock is mu- be imposed on drivers who are negli- Nation Weekly is published every Monday by The Mirror Media Pvt. Ltd. tual! gent towards the condition of their All Rights Reserved. The reproduction of the contents of this publication, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without the vehicles and misusing public space. prior consent of the publisher. HIMALI THAPA This can actually be a source of in- Vol. I, No. 16. For the week August 2-8, 2004, released on August 8 KATHMANDU come. The traffic police should also CONTACT repair faulty equipment in a speedy Policing traffic manner. Junctions that have heavy traf- www.nation.com.np WITH REGARD TO DEEPAK THAPAS fic should have traffic lights and roads article (Policing Traffic, A Little Word, repaired, maintained and extended. July 25), it is encouraging to see some- These measures could go a long way We prefer to receive letters via e-mail, without one finally speaking about the state of in preventing accidents and making attachments. Writers should disclose any connection traffic in this country ,in general, and of life much easier for citizens. How- or relationship with the subject of their comments. All letters must include an address and daytime and Kathmandu, in particular. ever, it is also common knowledge evening phone numbers. We reserve the right to edit Driving in Kathmandu is actually a that the thriving market, wherein li- letters for clarity and space. kind of free-for-all; a manifestation of censes are a commodity obtained E-mail: [email protected] Fax: 4216281 tragedy of the commons wherein through money rather than through Mail: Nation Weekly everyones pursuance of their individual tests, is also to blame for this prob- The Media House, GPO 8975, EPC 5620 interests hampers overall welfare. De- lem. Tripureshor, Kathmandu, Nepal. spite traffic rules, hardly anyone seems SUBSCRIPTION interested in following them. Pedestri- SHYAMAL K SHRESTHA E-mail: [email protected] Nation Weekly, The Media House, GPO 8975 ans prefer the road to side-walks, cross SITAPAILA EPC 5620, Tripureshor, Kathmandu, Nepal busy streets when the traffic signal bars Tel: 2111102, 4229825, 4261831, 4263098 them from doing so and walk just under Fax: 4216281 overhead bridges putting their own lives Media analysis at peril.