#641 1 - 7 February 2013 16 pages Rs 30 s his party prepares for its fi rst convention in 22 years Athis weekend, it looks like Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai is here to stay on in Baluwatar. He has systematically HEREHERE removed all obstacles to ensure his longevity in power. He bought time in 2012 by playing off rival NC factions TO STAY against each other, and TO STAY confronted President Ram Baran Yadav by manoeuvring the Army chief to oppose any move to replace the caretaker. He then defused possible civil society opposition by fl oating trial balloons to nominate “independent” non-political candidates for PMship. He is now leaking to the press that he has a secret plan to make a Supreme Court Justice prime minister after the convention. He defanged his own party chairman, co-opting his support in the party convention by striking a deal not to challenge Dahal’s continuation as chairman of the party and to ensure that he will support his candidacy for the next president. He has got the security chiefs on his side, convinced the international community that he alone can guarantee stability, and assured everyone he is for elections in May and it is actually the opposition that is against it. The party convention, therefore, will be an anti-climax. Anyone expecting fi reworks between Dahal and Bhattarai in Hetauda will be disappointed. The deadline to announce a date for elections by 31 May will lapse, the NC-UML led protests will fail to get traction, and the coast will be clear for Bhattarai to continue for as long as he wants. Kunda Dixit MIND YOUR LANGUAGES Mark Turin on the race against time to document and support Nepal’s increasingly endangered linguistic diversity page 12-13 Editorial Speaking in tongues page 2 BIKRAM RAI 2 EDITORIAL 1 - 7 FEBRUARY 2013 #641 SPEAKING IN TONGUES isagreement over the form of federalism subsequent civil service exams essentially puts killed the Constituent Assembly last non-Nepali speakers at a disadvantage and DMay over demands for self-rule for lies at the root of their under-representation in Nepal’s bigger ethnic groups and giving more government and other salaried jobs. Pragmatic emphasis to their languages. parents, therefore, prefer that their children Identity politics became an easy way for learn Nepali and English in school, eroding political parties, especially the Maoists, to proficiency in their own mother tongue. garner support but it did tap into historical Surveys have shown that children learn grievances about marginalisation and a best in their mother tongue, and students the long-felt belief that promotion of the lingua world over are more than capable of learning franca was undermining the existence of the multiple languages simultaneously. But most country’s other languages. public schools are on tight budgets and cannot The 2011 census showed a surprising afford to offer classes in local languages. increase in the number of languages and Private schools are better endowed, but they dialects spoken in Nepal from 103 to 123. respond to parents’ demand for English This wasn’t because more languages were education. being spoken, but because people had become In 2011, Dharmashila Chapagai, Nepal’s aware and proud of their identities. State Minister for Health and Population, As anthropologist Mark Turin argues spent seven agonising minutes labouring on page 12-13, Nepal’s linguistic diversity through her speech in English at a UN meeting mirrors the country’s ecological diversity and on AIDS in New York. Bloggers ridiculed is an important identity marker. Language is Chapagai for her diction and posted deriding an emotive issue, and if not treated adequately comments. She could have easily spoken in can lay the seeds of future conflict, especially KUNDA DIXIT Nepali, but chose a language she was clearly when leaders cannot resist the temptation to uncomfortable with because she saw it as a make populist capital out of it at election time. The responsibility to preserve status symbol. In the past, Nepali was promoted as Nepal’s national The goal should be to make Nepalis trilingual: fluent language because the fragile nation state needed symbols and nurture the diversity of in their mother tongue or local language, fluent in Nepali of nationalism and unity vis-à-vis Hindi in India. Today Nepal’s linguistic heritage so they can communicate with other Nepalis, and fluent Mero Nepali and Hamro Nepali books, successors of in English so they can speak with the outside world. Mahendra Mala, continue to foist antiquated nationalism lies with the state Nepal’s languages are dying. The number of people on students from Darchula to Panchthar and from Manang who speak one of them, Kusunda, is down to single digits. to Nawalparasi. their mother tongue. Maithili is second with three When a language becomes extinct, we lose a culture, While Nepali became the identifier for the Gorkhaland million speakers (about 12 per cent) followed by one a whole way of life, and a vocabulary of indigenous movement in India, where Nepali speakers were and half million Bhojpuri speakers. While the national knowledge forever. The responsibility to protect citizens considered one ethnic group whether they were Limbu, language and the Tarai languages thrive, the remaining lies with the state, and so does the responsibility to Gurung or Bahun, back in the motherland we have seen a 120 languages along with those that did not make it preserve and nurture the diversity of our linguistic challenge to the linguistic hegemony of Nepali. into the census, are fighting a losing battle against the heritage. Last year’s census shows that 11 million out of 26 homogenising forces of Nepali and English. Otherwise, by the time the next census comes around million Nepalis (around 45 per cent) consider Nepali The importance of marks in Nepali in SLC and in 2021, many of the 123 languages will have vanished. ON THE WEB www.nepalitimes.com GOING ROGUE All this time Dahal and Bhattarai entire peace process into an industry’. writer used this title, ‘There are many Very sharp and incisive editorial have been making fools of Nepalis as And Bhandari is one of those who young Nepali women who are like (‘Going rogue’, #640). This piece is an well as the opposition. Until these two has been reaping the most out of this CNN heroes’ he would’ve sounded urgent reminder to the ruling parties are removed from Nepal, there will be industry. more positive and remained neutral. to get their acts together before time nothing but chaos and unrest. So the Sushil Chandra Jha Kaji runs out and Nepal is ostracised choice is clear. internationally. It’s good that the editor Deepak Shrestha PAIN IN THE PLAINS Could the writer not fi nd any male links the political stalemate with the The situation of Madhesis is extremely social workers? lack of progress on Nepal’s ratifi cation JUSTICE, INTERRUPTED worrying (‘Pain in the plains’, Anurag Casual Observer of its international commitments. No justice done to Sita means no Acharya, #640). The people there die HIGHWAY IN AMERICA But is Baburam Bhattarai listening? justice done to all poor and powerless everyday of the cold, while the Madhesi I appreciate Deepak Rauniyar’s effort He seems too busy intimidating (‘Justice, interrupted’, Bhrikuti Rai, netas are busy looting the state coffers, to reach as large an audience as journalists and human rights activists. #640). Injustice somewhere means all in name of inclusiveness. The possible (‘Highway in America’, Mark Henny injustice everywhere. Sita’s case is not demand for federalism has become Turin, #640). But when I see that only her story, it is the voice of all Nepali the most effective instrument for only his own crew or ‘near and dear’ Everything is going according to women who are suffering the same the corrupt and criminals to make ones love this fi lm which was clearly plan for Bhattarai and he is on his injustice in every part of Nepal. Every themselves rich. rejected by ordinary cine-goers, it way to achieving his ultimate goal: woman should stand strong in solidarity Anonymous makes me sad. Next time, please dismantling the state. He even has with her until the criminals are put make a fi lm for Nepali audience, control over the army, a feat Pushpa behind bars for life. KINDNESS COUNTS otherwise just stick to making Kamal Dahal couldn’t accomplish. Tashi Lama What a bouquet of heart warming wedding videos. The only sector still opposing him is stories (‘Every act of kindness counts’, Binod BHRIKUTI RAI the media, which is why journalists If it is any consolation, Sita is not Santa Gaha Magar, #640). Is it just might be his next target. Watch out. alone. We and thousands of others friends, this fi ght will probably need to a coincidence that all these selfl ess Deep have been doing the same since the go on for months. There are more big individuals are women? Amidst the last 30 days through a movement now fi shes to take care of for BRB: avoiding gloom and doom of scary headlines Weekly Internet Poll #641 I am not sure if editorials in dubbed #OccupyBaluwatar. We admire polls, avoiding TRC, extending power. of demagogue leaders, here are Q. Should more politicians interact with the public on national papers like this or even her courage and strength. ‘We’ will be Eradicating gender violence might not ordinary Nepalis making extraordinary social media? protests in front of Baluwatar will granted justice, one way or another. even be on his list. contribution to those less advantaged.