India has the British to thank for its extensive nationwide rail network. China is now foremost in the world for fast trains. In between, Nepal is stuck in the slow track, and has let its historical railway lines in the Tarai rust away. An interesting subject for research by students of history can reveal how railway lines linking Nepal to British India shaped the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/nepals-political-economy">political economy</a> and social life of the day. &nbsp; The British built tracks to log <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-tarai-s-shrinking-forests">Nepal’s Tarai forests</a> for teak sleepers needed for new railway lines across India. But the train tracks also opened up Nepal to the world. And to itself.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250214070240_ea9e5986631d43d82b60fcfb8631f08fcc9c1f18d5087f8d98850857ac60cb15.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250214070240_ea9e5986631d43d82b60fcfb8631f08fcc9c1f18d5087f8d98850857ac60cb15" data-rendition-name="original" width="800" height="450" loading="lazy" alt="Luxury carriage"> <figcaption>A luxury carriage that brought British hunting royalty at Bhikhna-Thori station in the early 1900s. Photo: MADAN PURASKAR PUSTAKALAYA</figcaption> </figure>  <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/india-nepal-rail-diplomacy">Nepal helped build India’s rail network</a> with raw material, but only built two short lines of its own. Railways were introduced to India in 1886 by the British, not long after the invention of the steam locomotive. The rail network spread rapidly till 1914, a time when the demand for railway sleepers soared and the Tarai forests were mined for logs. The border town of Raxaul inaugurated its railway station on 1 March 1899. Once Raxaul was connected, it became easier for people from Kathmandu travelling to various parts of India, or even to other parts of Nepal, to take trains. India’s railways therefore also connected Nepal. When the Rana regime finally built train tracks, they were limited to the Raxaul-Birganj-Amlekhganj and Jayanagar-Janakpur-Bijulpura tracks for goods and passengers. Much later, train tracks were also built to ferry stones and logs during the construction of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-kosi-s-sorrow-and-scope">Kosi Barrage</a> in 1958-1962.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250214070244_9f32a67c6443031b9e1535bb0c39ccd4007e66cdd3169bd8420ef32cf5ce96b2.png" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20250214070244_9f32a67c6443031b9e1535bb0c39ccd4007e66cdd3169bd8420ef32cf5ce96b2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1432" height="896" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal Government Railway"> <figcaption>Nepal Government Railway in Amlekhganj in 1927. Photo: DIRGHA MAN CHITRAKAR</figcaption> </figure>  &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250214070248_720e22e1707010b91d5554d39dcc2586941557919e22ef0d266d77a9f75db928.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250214070248_720e22e1707010b91d5554d39dcc2586941557919e22ef0d266d77a9f75db928" data-rendition-name="original" width="736" height="490" loading="lazy" alt="Janakpur railway"> <figcaption>The steam engine of the Janakpur Railway that was commissioned in 1929.</figcaption> </figure>  Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-railways-janakpur-test-drive?fb_comment_id=3554227181262227_4263866616964943">Nepal Railways Janakpur test drive</a> It was only after the completion of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/on-the-fast-lane-to-expressways">East-West Highway</a> in the 1980s that the reliance of Nepalis on Indian trains was reduced. Until as recently as a decade ago, there was no alternative to taking an Indian train to get from one Tarai district to a neighbouring one, or even to travel within a district in Nepal. Indian narrow gauge train stations near the border became everyday names in Nepali conversation because of their importance to domestic connectivity: Galgaliya, Jogbani, Katihar, Nirmali, Kunaili, Bairgania, Dheng, Ghodasahan, Thutibari, Nautanwa, Badhani, Gorakhpur, Sunauli, Gonda, Bharaich, Murtiya, Tiukunia, Gauriphanta... Even today, as feeder roads join Tarai towns, some of these stations are still used extensively by Nepalis. One of them is the border village of Thori on the west of Parsa district. People in Thori used to take an Indian railway train at the Bhikhna-Thori to travel to the district capital of Birganj via Raxaul. In fact, the station catered almost exclusively to passengers from Nepal, and once the road joined Thori with Birganj, Bhikhna-Thori railway station fell into ruin.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250214070236_3180dfc6b2f7740674c84f99f5a25b1bc8b0395ae93093569320c533132b9861.png" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250214070236_3180dfc6b2f7740674c84f99f5a25b1bc8b0395ae93093569320c533132b9861" data-rendition-name="original" width="2234" height="1536" loading="lazy" alt="Bhikhna-Thori"> <figcaption>Bhikhna-Thori station today is a desolate place with the fare board still stuck to the wall. Photo: CHANDRA KISHORE</figcaption> </figure>  The Bhikhna-Thori station was built in 1906, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-duke-of-edinburgh-in-nepal">British royalty</a> and the Governor General from Calcutta used to take it for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/centennial-of-hunting-diplomacy-in-nepal">hunting expeditions organised by Nepal’s Rana rulers</a> in their honour. Similar rail links joining the Nepal border to the Indian rail network were built in Gauriphanta to connect Dhangadi (1914) and Kanchanpur to Tanakpur (1912). Gauriphanta was closed because Dudhwa became an Indian national park, and Tanakpur was converted to broad gauge.&nbsp; The importance of Nepali travelers to Indian railways can be gleaned from the name of Rupediya station, which is still officially called ‘Nepalganj Road’ Station.&nbsp; Similarly, there is a ‘Janakpur Road’ Station along the Samastipur-Narkatiaganj line in Bihar state, even though the name of the town itself is Pupari. The reason for this could be so Indian pilgrims headed to Janakpur would know where to get off.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250215030236_f232e817ef8fadcc7663360a2086b45f96e4bb72598336eab8072a4ff85ce3e9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250215030236_f232e817ef8fadcc7663360a2086b45f96e4bb72598336eab8072a4ff85ce3e9" data-rendition-name="original" width="487" height="410" loading="lazy" alt="Close up map"> <figcaption>Closeup map showing how Nepalis travelling from Chitwan to Birganj had to go via Indian railway before the road through Nepali territory.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025021607024_0819ee002685375d1d6485c2ff3cadc3937f77257fb479024482ad8f115b5ef5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="2025021607024_0819ee002685375d1d6485c2ff3cadc3937f77257fb479024482ad8f115b5ef5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1328" height="914" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal India railway"> </figure>  The crossborder railway was essential not just for passengers but also Nepal government administrative work. Not only were the mountains roadless, but even Tarai towns were not connected by motorable roads. After Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal became the first to climb an 8,000m peak when they summited Annapurna in 1950, they walked from Base Camp for weeks to the Indian border at Sunauli, took the Indian trail to Raxaul, connected to the Amlekhganj train and then trekked up the mountains to Kathmandu to meet Prime Minister Mohan Shumsher &nbsp;Rana.&nbsp; Herzog made the journey in the heat of the Indian summer. His frostbitten toes and fingers were turning gangrenous and had to be amputated in the train.&nbsp; <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-train-project-struggles-to-stay-on-track">Lack of connectivity in Nepal</a> and the presence of Indian train stations at the border meant that Nepal’s socio-economic life and political orientation was to the south. It was only after connectivity within Nepal improved starting in the 1970s that the periphery could go directly to Kathmandu without routing via India. This change had a profound impact on education, health, trade, and even in the mindset of Nepalis. In his book, Regionalism and National Unity in Nepal, American scholar Frederick H Gaige says that the basis of the early industrialisation of the Nepal Tarai towns was that they were connected to the Indian rail network. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/putting-nepal-on-the-right-track">Putting Nepal on the right track</a>, Arnico Pandey Gaige argues that the expansion of its railway network to the Nepal border was also linked to India’s own economic growth trajectory northwards in the 19th century as markets for agriculture surplus from the Nepal Tarai. Traders from the Madhesi community prospered because of the presence of these stations, and some invested their profits in property there. It was a sign of great prestige for traders from Nepal to own assets in Indian railheads. India’s railways even influenced Nepal’s political awakening, starting with the 1950 anti-Rana movement. Being able to coordinate protests across Nepal was only possible because of the ease of travel by rail via India. Even during the 1980 referendum, anti-Panchayat reformists found refuge in rail stations across the border. Finally, there was also the social impact. Connecting various parts of Nepal, even the mountain districts, with each other made it possible for families from eastern Nepal to marry their children to those from the west – something that would have been difficult, if not impossible, had they not been able to travel on Indian trains. Nepal was a closed kingdom in those days, but Indian trains also opened the eyes of Nepalis to the world outside: Calcutta, Banaras, Bombay and beyond. &nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/india-china-rail-race">India-China rail race</a>, Shristi Karki

India’s border trains that connected Nepal

Bottom

Four International airlines: Nepal Airlines, Fly Dubai, Thai AirAsia and Kuwait’s Jazeera now regularly operate out of Gautam Buddha International Airport that serves Lumbini. In February, 115 Flights from GBIA carried a total of 6,879 passengers. However, this has not reduced congestion in Kathmandu since Nepalis flying out still have to come to the capital to get their documents.

Bhairawa takes off

An eight-member ‘icefall doctor’ team left for Everest Base Camp to fix climbing routes up to Camp 2 led by Ang Sarki Sherpa. Icefall doctors conduct a survey of the glacier and fix ladders and ropes on the dangerous Khumbu Icefall. The ropes will be used by climbers attempting Mt Everest, Lhotse, and Nuptse in Spring 2025.

Icefall docs

Nepalis have overtaken Brazilians to become the fifth-largest foreign community in Japan. As of June 2024, there were a total of 206,898 Nepalis with an annual rise of 30-50,000 individuals. Brazilians have been increasing by a mere 2-5,000. Only China, Vietnam, South Korea, and the Philippines have more people than Nepal in Japan. Nepalis usually come to Japan on student visas that also allow them to work mainly in the Kyushu region in restaurants.

Nepalis in Japan

The past, the present, and the future are really one: they are today. -Harriet Beecher Stowe  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122609120_5c63a3201a7231b9334f98a3a1af867acfc1264e29fc3081810a565a270bde6f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024122609120_5c63a3201a7231b9334f98a3a1af867acfc1264e29fc3081810a565a270bde6f" data-rendition-name="original" width="2700" height="2700" loading="lazy" alt="Miss Moti #1241"> </figure>

The past, the present, and the future are really one

A cabinet meeting last week appointed former journalist Sharad Ojha as the chair of the Nepal Insurance Authority, the regulator of the sector. Ojha has no qualifications for the post as required by Nepal’s Insurance Act.&nbsp;
His family ties to Nepali Congress president <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/deuba-5-qh371fm4">Sher Bahadur Deuba</a> has been cited as the reason he got to bypass appointment criteria.
This is just the latest example. Bending the law to appoint <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-crony-communism-exposed">cronies</a> and special interest groups to leadership positions in regulatory bodies has <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/crony-communism">become the norm in Nepal</a>.
Ojha’s predecessor was former Home Secretary Surya Prasad Silwal, who was suspended two months before the end of his term in December after the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/ciaa-traps-small-fish-lets-big-ones-go">Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA)</a> filed a corruption case against him in the Special Court. Days after Ojha’s appointment, the court cleared Silwal of corruption charges.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/search?q=corruption+case">Nepal’s corruption carousel</a>
Before Silwal, the Nepal Insurance Authority was led by Chiranjivi Chapagain, a relative of Chandra Dhakal of the IME Group. Chapagain is accused of granting approval to 10 insurance companies under dubious circumstances and favouring <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/business/ime-insurance">IME Life Insurance’</a>s approval.
Meanwhile, intense lobbying by interest groups with ties to both <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-government-changes-again">Prime Minister Oli</a> and PM-in-waiting Deuba allowed Santosh Narayan Shrestha’s appointment as the chair of the Securities and Exchange Board of Nepal (SEBON) in December. Shrestha promptly paid his dues to the groups that put him in office by making preparations to grant them permission to operate stock exchange.
Shrestha was preceded by hotelier Ramesh Kumar Hamal, the recommendation procedure and committee for whom were changed to ensure his appointment.
During his tenure, Hamal hastily amended a law that allowed specific companies to sell premium stocks amid ongoing debates, &nbsp;and another one allowing the operation of stock exchanges with private sector investment instead of public companies. None of this raised eyebrows.
Hamal’s predecessor Bhishma Raj Dhungana, a former Nepal Rastra Bank official, was dismissed as SEBON chair following allegations of irregularities.&nbsp;
Most of these recent individuals were appointed heads of regulatory bodies under PM Oli and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel and probably at their behest.
The appointments at the Nepal Insurance Authority and SEBON reflect a blatant disregard for the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/federalism-rule-of-law-and-the-judiciary">rule of law</a>. Such practice is also rampant in the cooperatives and real estate sectors, where <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-risks-being-blacklisted-on-money-laundering">illegal financial dealings</a> and bad faith business is modus operandi.
Meanwhile, Energy Minister Deepak Khadka, also a hydropower entrepreneur, is set on ousting <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/more-than-half-of-nepal-s-electricity-imported-from-india">Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA)</a> managing director <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/kulman-ghising-to-stay-on">Kulman Ghising</a>. He previously ordered the removal of Dudhkoshi Hydropower Project CEO Bimal Gurung for criticising him on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/no-comment">social media</a>.&nbsp;
The minister has a major conflict of interest because of his involvement in private energy sector, and is pressuring parliamentary committees and regulatory bodies to amend the law to allow the sale of 50% of the shares of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/missing-pieces-of-the-hydropower-jigsaw">hydropower projects </a>during the so-called 'lock-in period', which prevents the sale of promoter shares.
Now, lobbyists have set their sights on the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). Maha Prasad Adhikari’s tenure ends in April, and the same groups behind the appointment of the chiefs of regulatory bodies like SEBON and Nepal Insurance Authority are going door to door of governing coalition leaders to have their candidate appointed.&nbsp;
The book Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson—co-winners of last year’s Nobel Prize for Economics with economist Simon Johnson—describes how public institutions are misused, weakened, and pushed toward failure by those with access to power.
Regulatory bodies are crucial to maintaining fair competition and ethical market practices. They exist to serve Nepal’s public. However, they are being deliberately undermined by special interest groups paying off authorities for plum positions that will enrich them and their political patrons. &nbsp;
The government ordered the Department of Money Laundering to ‘wait’ as the body sought permission to take action against Ajeya Sumargi for illicit dealing.
It was thus unsurprising that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) placed Nepal on its grey list in February for failing to take effective and result-oriented action to prevent money laundering.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/black-white-and-grey">Black, white and grey</a>, Ramesh Kumar
The international community has raised a red flag against malgovernance, political interference, conflicts of interest, and impunity. The world is watching, but Nepal’s politico-corporate interests are too deep in greed to care.
Ramesh Kumar

Public-Private Collusion

Pottery has deep history in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/bringing-silicon-valley-to-kathmandu-valley">Kathmandu Valley</a> civilisation, the clay soil of the former lake bed perfectly suited for terracotta ware, bricks and tiles. It is a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/life-and-livelihood-in-remote-nepal">livelihood</a> that builds on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-s-soft-power-is-its-heritage">heritage</a>, especially in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/clash-of-cultures-in-bhaktapur">Bhaktapur</a> and Thimi where <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/a-time-to-every-purpose-occupation,3023">traditional potters</a> (कुमाल) have been moulding and firing <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=6805">clay vessels</a> for centuries.&nbsp; Beyond its role in daily life and rituals, pottery blends functionality with the cultural and spiritual, and continues to thrive in new ways. Moulding clay on a potter’s wheel has become a tourist attraction and therapeutic escape for those stressed by the pressures of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3362">modern life</a>.&nbsp; Crafting objects from clay is a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/reviving-nepal-s-craft">tradition passed down through generations</a> for the Newa people of Bhaktapur, particularly the Prajapati and Awal clans. Modern machinery has allowed the craft to develop new products and practices.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250302090356_df489d3cafa6b737050a38644eab62af1af367fedd9007767c8fd34c17b002e4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250302090356_df489d3cafa6b737050a38644eab62af1af367fedd9007767c8fd34c17b002e4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1499" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Happy to just potter around in Bhaktapur NT"> <figcaption>Photos: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption> </figure>  Most have broadened their product range by including glazed ceramic and refined clay products, opened showrooms and conducted classes for enthusiasts. &nbsp; “<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/nepali-artist-at-miami-art-week">Ceramics</a> are more in demand since they have longer life and alternatives to plastic,” says Ratna Prajapati of Cera Nepal.&nbsp; Ceramic products are used in crockery, while clay cookware is regaining popularity. Once solely a <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=10000">traditional craft</a>, pottery is now a <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Economic-Class/waiting-for-an-industrial-revolution,784#google_vignette">modern business </a>offering people a hobby, a pastime and even <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/a-life-devoted-to-healing">healing</a>. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-art-of-healing">The art of healing</a>, Sewa Bhattarai  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250302090356_efddfb64dc1a876788ad234b74da680cc0e45f0534db53a984c8e1dd9669c78b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20250302090356_efddfb64dc1a876788ad234b74da680cc0e45f0534db53a984c8e1dd9669c78b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="667" loading="lazy" alt="Happy to just potter around in Bhaktapur NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250302090356_478dd00a2163d974151a3708fff18e845717441d43d2eb96b626e031995937e5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="20250302090356_478dd00a2163d974151a3708fff18e845717441d43d2eb96b626e031995937e5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="667" loading="lazy" alt="Happy to just potter around in Bhaktapur NT"> </figure>  “People prefer to use ceramics for cookware rather than plastic and other products,” says Riya Prajapati of Prajapati Ceramic in Boudha. &nbsp; The pottery industry faced hurdles during <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/how-they-kept-nepal-in-the-dark-ages">times of prolonged power cuts</a>, and the 2015 earthquake in which Bhaktapur was particularly badly hit. However, the Covid-19 pandemic was a turnaround, as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/take-to-pottery-during-the-pandemic">many people picked it up as a pandemic hobby</a>.&nbsp; Ratna Prajapati recalls many students and Kathmandu-based expats started reaching out for pottery classes at the time.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250302090356_b05fa054431b7bcc28c793c27d1b16e73b30eab6b5b6d5700e6710318cc3080b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_18" data-image-id="20250302090356_b05fa054431b7bcc28c793c27d1b16e73b30eab6b5b6d5700e6710318cc3080b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="667" loading="lazy" alt="Happy to just potter around in Bhaktapur NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025030210030_07c7c65d53473b8a8e5fbd2ca2a1060847b0a10278498d989cba925fc40a9e71.jpg" data-media-id="editor_19" data-image-id="2025030210030_07c7c65d53473b8a8e5fbd2ca2a1060847b0a10278498d989cba925fc40a9e71" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="667" loading="lazy" alt="Happy to just potter around in Bhaktapur NT"> </figure>  Previously, it was mostly foreigners who were interested in pottery classes, but more and more Nepalis are enrolling for hobby or &nbsp;relaxation.&nbsp; The Pottery Training Centre at Bhaktapur currently has the capacity to train 10 people at a time, but is enlarging its studio to accommodate 30-40 students. &nbsp;&nbsp; “I started pottery when I was 9. Initially, we used to make पाला (ceremonial clay cups for oil lamps), but we have expanded to mugs and other ceramics,” says Sajan Prajapati of the Pottery Training Centre. “Age is not a barrier to learn the craft and art of pottery.” &nbsp;&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025030210030_fa35e24803163de8034d8df079b9b11f1a8b6b17f8f9a6d9729912baf3299e7d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="2025030210030_fa35e24803163de8034d8df079b9b11f1a8b6b17f8f9a6d9729912baf3299e7d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="667" loading="lazy" alt="Happy to just potter around in Bhaktapur NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025030210030_3931e2274e14478244531089480b026453296f09850a96f57be8873ecb22448d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="2025030210030_3931e2274e14478244531089480b026453296f09850a96f57be8873ecb22448d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="667" loading="lazy" alt="Happy to just potter around in Bhaktapur NT"> </figure>  Pottery is a blend of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/business/making-nepal-tranquil">relaxation</a>, self-expression, and ultimately delivers a sense of achievement. It has been proven to offer solace to those facing emotional challenges, while also boosting self-confidence and a sense of self-worth, as individuals create something from shapeless clay.&nbsp; Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/practicing-mindfulness-in-schools"> Practicing mindfulness in schools</a>, Basu Gautam&nbsp; It also provides a nonverbal way for people to process their feelings, giving them a sense of control and a creative outlet.&nbsp; “A student with a disability once visited our studio with a group, and she made better shapes from clay than others,” recalls Ganesh Hari Prajapati, Riya’s father. “Children are naturally restless and always on the move, and pottery helps them concentrate. Even while they wait for their turn, they play with lumps of clay.”&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250302090356_9ec7c5a022b1c61b454748ddc50dde0622e3cfe3f1b9d9c924395e7e2a827960.jpg" data-media-id="editor_24" data-image-id="20250302090356_9ec7c5a022b1c61b454748ddc50dde0622e3cfe3f1b9d9c924395e7e2a827960" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="667" loading="lazy" alt="Happy to just potter around in Bhaktapur NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250302090356_c1b905546aacf51f0db4ba9d3a064c49e4d300eadfe0fa87456181640bf6c968.jpg" data-media-id="editor_25" data-image-id="20250302090356_c1b905546aacf51f0db4ba9d3a064c49e4d300eadfe0fa87456181640bf6c968" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="667" loading="lazy" alt="Happy to just potter around in Bhaktapur NT"> </figure>  In addition to regular product sales, Bhaktapur’s new clay entrepreneurs now process bulk orders from hotels and restaurants looking for more <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19006">eco-friendly solutions</a>. A traditional terracotta water jar, for example is naturally cooled by evaporation as water seeps through the porous clay. Subin Suwal, 28, is also with the Pottery Training Centre in Bhaktapur and conducts regular classes for individuals and groups of Nepalis and expats.&nbsp; He says, “Nepalis typically join shorter classes, while tourists opt for longer, more detailed sessions to immerse themselves in the craft. Interest is growing because it can be a stress reliever, and participants get a sense of satisfaction seeing the end product.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250302090356_1eca5da35c0408db4a20ec86dae3149110670a84c1ae07f9fc26389b169a613a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_27" data-image-id="20250302090356_1eca5da35c0408db4a20ec86dae3149110670a84c1ae07f9fc26389b169a613a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="667" loading="lazy" alt="Happy to just potter around in Bhaktapur NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025030210030_1a2f55669492355a35794f84cd2d598899e2f3034dc3f2b674769c886254ddb7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_28" data-image-id="2025030210030_1a2f55669492355a35794f84cd2d598899e2f3034dc3f2b674769c886254ddb7" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="667" loading="lazy" alt="Happy to just potter around in Bhaktapur NT"> </figure>  Some of Ratna Prajapati’s student customers have bought their own wheels and now make products at home, and even sell <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-art-of-living">handmade ceramic products</a> to augment their cash income. Pottery helps improve focus and can calm the mind. Ratna Prajapati says he notices this among some of his customers who initially look like they are going through tough times because they are distracted and uninterested. But after watching their friends enjoy moulding clay at the wheel, they are drawn to give it a try themselves.&nbsp; “We see their moods instantly uplifted, they brighten up and suddenly take an interest in their surroundings,” he adds. “Pottery as a hobby helps people when they feel a disconnect with life.” This becomes more important with mental health becoming a major priority, and the spread of mobile phone use among younger people.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025030210030_314c46f42440f86b0bb2ac6fce6553469e5690c974b678c2259e196337f74d47.jpg" data-media-id="editor_30" data-image-id="2025030210030_314c46f42440f86b0bb2ac6fce6553469e5690c974b678c2259e196337f74d47" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="894" loading="lazy" alt="Happy to just potter around in Bhaktapur NT"> <figcaption>The Pottery Training Centre at Bhaktapur currently has the capacity to train 10 people at a time, but is enlarging its studio to accommodate 30-40 students. Photo: POTTERY TRAINING CENTRE</figcaption> </figure>  Prajapati Ceramic, for example, takes pottery to the next level by offering <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/raising-children-can-be-therapy">therapy </a>using the GEM Method, (Guide, Engage, and Motivate) to improve mental health and restore focus in younger visitors. The Studio combines pottery making with music and counselling conversations with customers. &nbsp; While pottery classes can be a respite from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/so-you-want-to-quit-facebook">social media addiction</a>, pottery business owners themselves are taking to mobiles and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/surveying-nepal-s-digital-landscape">digital media</a> to grow their businesses through networking and collecting online reviews. Riya at Prajapati Ceramics adds that most customers these days come to her studio after seeing online reviews and videos that she puts up on Instagram and other platforms.&nbsp; She says, “I feel digital outreach is important, we get out to a large number of people, and sharing the positive impacts of pottery is just a &nbsp;click away.” &nbsp; <h2>Pottery History&nbsp;</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025030210030_a928e8aa67cfe641f624efc2f4cf576cb94071a739a5bde7a1735a43e00e1282.jpg" data-media-id="editor_34" data-image-id="2025030210030_a928e8aa67cfe641f624efc2f4cf576cb94071a739a5bde7a1735a43e00e1282" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="667" loading="lazy" alt="Happy to just potter around in Bhaktapur NT"> </figure>  Pottery making is nearly as old as human civilisation, with the first terracotta objects found in archaeological sites dating back at least 10,000 years. Potters fired moulded clay into objects for everyday household use.&nbsp; Later, terracotta was used as building material for bricks, tiles and even sewers. A different type of clay was then developed to shape porcelain objects, either as utensils or art. Some of the earliest porcelain was fired in China 1,500 years ago. Pottery arrived in Kathmandu Valley probably from both the Indus Valley Civilisation and China about 5,000 years ago. The fine clay found in the lake deposits was an ideal raw material for household objects, and most early buildings in the Valley were made from bricks and tiles by firing clay in kilns. Pottery flourished as an art form and reached its most creative peak during the Malla Period (12-18th century CE) when all the kingdoms in the Valley competed to build grand temples and monasteries. Pottery also took on an artistic function in rituals and continues to have deep cultural significance. &nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/hari-the-potter">Hari the Potter</a>, Aayusha Pokharel

Happy to just potter around Bhaktapur

What began as a joint effort to research Nepal’s natural resources has now become a global representation of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-making-of-kathmandu-valley-style">indigenous craftsmanship</a>, and empowering women. Arati Subba and Samriddhi Gurung were raised in the UK, had years of experience in the fashion industry, and found themselves in Nepal during the Covid-19 pandemic. “I always wanted to explore what Nepal naturally offers,” says Gurung. “After a lot of research, we discovered that beeswax is a biowaste that lasts three times longer than soy or paraffin wax.” She researched the local market for lifestyle products, and found only paraffin candles for sale. So, they thought, why not create beeswax candles?  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025012011018_dbdf64ffc6c18c926717a2214e902c4e6600e95aa2f2670e614647fe70d6d984.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025012011018_dbdf64ffc6c18c926717a2214e902c4e6600e95aa2f2670e614647fe70d6d984" data-rendition-name="original" width="5472" height="3648" loading="lazy" alt="Reviving Nepal's craft NT"> <figcaption>Arati Subba and Samriddhi Gurung, founders of Riti Studio. Photo: RITI STUDIO</figcaption> </figure>  Together, they set up Riti Studio and have now diversified from candles to grow into a business in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/seams-sustainable">sustainable lifestyle</a> products.&nbsp; Based in Nepal and Hong Kong, Riti's all-women team now also handcrafts candles, incense sticks, and ceramics. It strives to preserve Nepal’s craft traditions. “Do you know how to hand-roll incense sticks by yourself?” Gurung asks. “My grandmother still does it, but neither my mother nor I know how to do that. So, this is an effort to preserve our generational craft, and take it further.” The entrepreneur duo define their approach as ‘slow luxury of artisanal quality’ and collaborate with local artisans. Each ceramic piece, for example, is hand-crafted, reflecting the skill and dedication of those involved.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025012011018_db44619728c2f031c8412a86206b6166cff7258796d170df73b8db3b85736ebd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2025012011018_db44619728c2f031c8412a86206b6166cff7258796d170df73b8db3b85736ebd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Reviving Nepal's craft NT"> <figcaption>Photos: SANGYA LAMSAL</figcaption> </figure>  “Every piece is unique in itself,” says Subba. “The design is the same, but the actual printwork, texture, it is all different.” Sustainability remains a key priority, but financial viability is also important. In the early days, the two scoured nearly every <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/honey-money?s=08">honey shop</a> they could find. Most honey sellers in Nepal also have their own farms where they source raw materials. Their search extended beyond honey, as they also sought local suppliers for ceramics and packaging. After finding the right materials, they sampled to ensure quality. Only then did they move to production and marketing, for which Nepali language was a must.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025012011018_55c551fd62ed7dd91c2d511ab1561b76ad3805f7772cfb005bc6eeb133c479ae.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2025012011018_55c551fd62ed7dd91c2d511ab1561b76ad3805f7772cfb005bc6eeb133c479ae" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Reviving Nepal's craft NT"> </figure>  “It was really hard to communicate and try to sound smart in Nepali while meeting with the suppliers at first,” she recalls. The language barrier meant some suppliers did not take her seriously in a largely male-dominated society.&nbsp; Things changed when the men started noticing their professionalism. “Now, the men are much more appreciative of who we are, and we are taken more seriously,” adds Gurung. The name Riti comes from the idea of having one’s own little ritual, focusing on self-care and self-love and the Nepali term रीती रिवाज, meaning rituals. When asked if they had any advice for other entrepreneurs just starting out, Gurung says, “You have to put your head down and get to work. Stop listening to the noise outside and stay focused.” Subba pipes in: “Find what interests you, and make something beautiful out of it.”&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/business/return-to-nature">Return to nature</a>

Reviving Nepal’s craft

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Throughout human history, civilisations have been named after the rivers along which they flourished: Indus Valley, Nile, Tigris-Euphrates. Many of these cultures later collapsed, partly because they could not manage their water needs properly. Three recent books about Himalayan rivers look at their history and geography, and how they nourished civilisations downstream. The rivers gave birth to the world’s major religions, their waters and the mountains from which they sprang were revered. Mythology and geology converge in High Asia. Mt Kailash is holy to the Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Bon faiths as the centre of the world and the abode of the gods. Indeed, from its vicinity emerge Asia’s great rivers: the Indus and Sutlej, Ganga and the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) and Karnali (Mapcha Tsangpo).&nbsp; Legend has it that Kathmandu Valley was once a primordial lake drained by Manjushree who cut a mountain with his flaming sword. There is scientific evidence that the paleo lake was indeed emptied in stages starting 40,000 years ago after a tsunami unleashed by a major earthquake epicentred in Langtang. The Bon faith describes the Tibetan Plateau being pushed up from a roiling primeval sea, confirming current evidence about the orogenesis of the Himalaya. In local lore, supernatural lha (animal deities) and lu (serpents, naga) moved from sea to land, just as the theory of evolution explains the emergence of early amphibians and land creatures. In <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Rivers-of-the-Asian-Highlands-From-Deep-Time-to-the-Climate-Crisis/Gamble-Tan-Xu-Beavis-Maurer-Pittock-Powers-Wasson/p/book/9781032490595?srsltid=AfmBOopjkpgcN1_7t1jTI_Z1_27yRthBTbdHA15OWcE9Ge3S409jhUX3">Rivers of the Asian Highlands: From Deep Time to the Climate Crisis</a>, Himalayan historian <a href="https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/rgamble">Ruth Gamble</a> and co-authors begin by tracing the genesis of the Himalaya, citing evidence that the Tibetan Plateau pre-dated the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates 50 million years ago. Asia’s main rivers co-emerged with the mountains, their waters cutting canyons through rocks as they were uplifted. The gigantic pileup acted as a moisture trap for the proto-monsoon, the rain and ice sculpting peaks as they rose. But so strong were tectonic forces that the uplift outpaced erosion on the Tibetan Plateau. These dynamic processes are still at work, but in many places across High Asia there is a new factor at play: modern infrastructure (like haphazard road-building in Nepal) is increasing erosion faster than the uplift rate.&nbsp; ‘This is an example of human action overcoming tectonics,’ write the authors in Rivers of the Asian Highlands, in which the chapters look at Himalayan rivers from a planetary scale, their socio-cultural histories, to present-day engineering to regulate them. An ongoing dam-building spree and anthropogenic climate breakdown combine to bring about the most rapid change the Himalaya and their rivers have seen for millions of years. One example is the Medog Hydropower Station being built on the Yarlung Tsangpo at a bend on the Brahmaputra before it enters India. The river drops 2,000m within a 50km stretch, the gradient allowing it to generate 60,000MW — the biggest single hydroelectric plant in the world. Gamble and the authors of Rivers of the Asian Highlands highlight the Gravitational Potential Energy (GPE) of the Himalaya that allows falling water to be converted into electricity. But GPE also unleashes landslides, rockfalls, avalanches, Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) and Landslide Lake Outburst Floods (LLOFs), the risks posed by them magnified by climate change and seismicity. <blockquote>The Asian Highlands’ abundance of Gravitational Potential Energy (GPE) can support the region’s energy transition, but it needs to be produced in much less hazardous and less environmentally and socially impactful ways. The best means of doing this is through off-river, pumped-storage hydropower stations that back up solar and wind energy generators. Smaller projects such as this would also involve less risky tunneling and displacement.</blockquote> Rivers of the Asian Highlands: From Deep Time to the Climate Crisis by Ruth Gamble, et al. There is geological evidence that megafloods on Himalayan rivers are more responsible than mass wasting in weathering down the mountains. One big LLOF, for example, could ‘move 1,000 times more sediment than would otherwise be transported over millions of years’. Permafrost melting in the Tibetan Plateau and inside moraines caused recent back-to-back GLOFs in Chamoli in the Indian Himalaya, Melamchi in Nepal, and the South Lhonak in Sikkim — all deadly disasters that together destroyed billions of dollars worth of infrastructure downstream. Rivers of the Asian Highlands travels from deep time to the present climate crisis, taking readers through neatly divided chapters titled Mountain Rivers, Climatic Rivers, Frozen Rivers, Living Rivers, Human Rivers, Territorializing Rivers, Agricultural and Pastoral Rivers, even NGOs and Rivers.&nbsp; Although the book’s title is about the ‘Asian highlands’, it <a href="https://www.himalmag.com/comment/eastern-himalaya-cradle-ethnogenesis">focuses mainly on the Dri Chu (Yangtse)</a> and Yarlung Tso (Brahmaputra). Readers looking for references to Nepal’s rivers will be disappointed, although there is quite a bit about Bhutan. This is surprising because 70% of the annual flow in the Ganga is from tributaries in Nepal, some of them rivers like Karnali, Arun or Bhote Kosi that traverse the Tibetan rimlands. As demand for water and energy grows in the large and increasingly affluent population of north India, and climate breakdown melts Himalayan glaciers, storing monsoon runoff on reservoirs in Nepal is going to be the geopolitical issue of the next decades.&nbsp; The chapter on NGOs and Rivers also fails to cite the work of Nepal’s civil society groups like the Alliance for Energy that built international solidarity in 1995 against the Arun III project on a river that starts in Tibet and flows into Nepal. Ultimately, the World Bank pulled out of the project and the Nepal government invested in smaller decentralised plants. Today, a cascade of power plants are being built by Indian companies on the Arun which do not seem to have taken into account the <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads2659">2023 Sikkim GLOF</a> that swept away the $1 billion dollar Teesta III and destroyed other infrastructure. The World Bank itself is back with the Upper Arun project located directly below expanding glacial lakes in Tibet.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250222020256_f2b33e60e6b386308bdf59b58b59e116e90e2e4466a06200faf76fd851f53505.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250222020256_f2b33e60e6b386308bdf59b58b59e116e90e2e4466a06200faf76fd851f53505" data-rendition-name="original" width="5712" height="3213" loading="lazy" alt="Teesta"> <figcaption>The Super Trisuli project in Nepal has ruined the most scenic and ecologically sensitive part of the river to generate just 100MW of power. Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption> </figure>  Despite geographical gaps, Rivers of the Asian Highlands reads like an encyclopedia of Himalayan rivers. The authors look at them not in isolation but as interconnected systems which need a multidisciplinary approach to study the geological, religio-cultural, infrastructure, climate and ecosystem services aspects of catchments.&nbsp; Mt Kailash (Kang Rinpoche) is a case in point. It is fascinating to think that it was part of a mountain range even before the collision of the continents that formed the Himalaya, and was probably buried in ice 3km thick till 15,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025022203020_23c02ec4671f5c3c561fa6b450c1f209720a25794e067b9bb5db0f4649b1b6dc.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2025022203020_23c02ec4671f5c3c561fa6b450c1f209720a25794e067b9bb5db0f4649b1b6dc" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Mt Kailash"> <figcaption>Mt Kailash. Photo: NABIN BARAL</figcaption> </figure>  Lake Mansarovar and Mt Kailash are also the subject of the new Nepali language book छालबाटो (Road by the Waves) by environmental journalist <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-and-china-to-study-trans-himalayan-railway">Ramesh Bhushal</a> in which he walked, rafted and drove from the source of the Karnali in Tibet, right through 500km of western Nepal, and on to India <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/dancing-with-the-river">where the river meets the Ganga</a>. In his entourage is activist, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Comment/rivers-fighting-back,993">Megh Ale</a>, who is on a campaign to stop dams and infrastructure on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/dams-and-dreams-a-journey-down-the-karnali">Nepal’s longest and only free-flowing river</a>. The book profiles his lonely upstream struggle to conserve the country’s rivers. “We worship rivers, but we don’t love them,” laments Ale. Bhushal’s book is as much about the landscape of this transboundary river as it is about the people he meets along the way, and their relationship with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-denial-in-the-himalaya">a river that most regard as a curse </a>keeping them poor because they believe it flows out of Rakshas Tal (Lagngar Tso) in Tibet, regarded as a lake of demons, unlike the sacred Mansarovar nearby. The expedition is out to prove that the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/a-karnali-portrait">Karnali River</a> actually starts in the mountains 50km southwest of the Mansarovar (Mapamyu Tso) at the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ9Za5QDkvY">Peacock Falls (Mapchu Khambap)</a>. The Indus is called Sengge (Lion), Sutlej is Langchen (elephant) and the Brahmaputra is Tamchok (horse), all starting within 60km of Mansarovar but flowing out in different directions. <blockquote>“I have visited hundreds of rivers around the world, but for some reason I have never seen a river as beautiful as the Karnali. One day I would like to visit its source.”</blockquote> River conservation activist Megh Ale quoted in छालबाटो by Ramesh Bhusal. But all this reverence for the mountains and rivers may not be enough to save the region from the impact of climate breakdown. Heat stress in the Subcontinent will coincide with a shortage of water in the coming decades.&nbsp; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/01/opinion/himalayas-mountains-dams.html">Sunil Amrith</a> in his 2019 book, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-monsoon-and-nature-s-arithmetic">Unruly Waters: How Mountain Rivers and Monsoons Have Shaped South Asia’s History</a> takes a broader look at how geotectonics, geopolitics, colonialism and nationalism have determined the relations between human beings and rivers. The Himalayan water cycle starts from monsoon moisture that precipitates with orographic uplift along the mountains, atmospheric rivers unleash cloudbursts, ground water emerges from springs that join up to flow down to rivers and the ocean. The Third Pole is the biggest repository of fresh water stored as ice after the polar regions. But it is a hotspot both because of the climate crisis and geopolitical tensions, which impacts on river basin cooperation, early warning data sharing, and ultimately in mitigation of greenhouse gas emission and planning for new risks faced by infrastructure. After independence, India adopted the colonial extraction model for rivers. Inaugurating the Bhakra-Nangal Dam in 1953, Jawaharlal Nehru called it “a temple of &nbsp;modern India … worthy of worship’. Gamble also alludes to this in her book about the European attitude about rivers as a resource to be ‘enclosed, extracted, scrutinised, commodified’. <a href="https://dialogue.earth/en/water/review-unrully-waters/" target="_blank">Amrith</a> profiles the work of Sir Arthur Cotton who was building canals linking rivers in British India at about the same time his contemporaries like botanist <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/republic-of-nepal-s-animal-kingdom" target="_blank">Joseph Dalton-Hooker </a>were exploring the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-kangchenjunga" target="_blank">Teesta and other rivers</a> in the Himalaya to catalogue new plant species. India's current National River Linking Project that would join 37 rivers with 9,000km of canals builds on Cotton’s early work. <blockquote>If there is one consistent lesson in Unruly Waters, it is that water management never has been, and can never be, a purely technical or a scientific question; neither can it be addressed on a purely national scale … the battle continues to understand the monsoons and mountain rivers that shape Asia.</blockquote> Unruly Waters: How Mountain Rivers and Monsoons Have Shaped South Asia’s History by Sunil Amrith And in Nepal, hydropower has become the holy grail as the government unveiled an Energy Development Roadmap to generate 28,500MW by 2035 at a cumulative cost of nearly $50billion. This means no river in Nepal will be left free-flowing. The Trisuli along the Prithvi Highway is being dammed for only 100MW of power, destroying the most scenic part of a river that has rapids famous internationally for white water rafters. Even before it was completed, the dam site suffered Rs200 million in damage in last September’s flood.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025022203020_d9610a11bccb593d32bf4d214479caa17dfbdd6cdfe5e8c38fdcb8eb752fc0ec.jpg" data-media-id="editor_18" data-image-id="2025022203020_d9610a11bccb593d32bf4d214479caa17dfbdd6cdfe5e8c38fdcb8eb752fc0ec" data-rendition-name="original" width="4032" height="2268" loading="lazy" alt="Trisuli"> <figcaption>Boulders and sediment 80m deep were brought down by the Teesta after a GLOF destroyed the $1 billion Teesta III plant in Sikkim in 2023. Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption> </figure>  In Sikkim, there is strong <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/02/political-stir-follows-expert-panels-approval-to-rebuild-teesta-dam-in-sikkim/">local opposition to rebuild Teesta III</a> but investors are looking at the huge economic windfall from the river as it drops from 5,000m below Kangchenjunga to 300m within 80km — one of the highest Gravitational Potential Energy of any river in the world. Besides Nepal and Bhutan, the ‘watersheds’ of the Himalaya are turning into ‘powersheds’ as India and China compete for hydro-hegemony. India is said to be planning to dam the Brahmaputra to offset the disruption caused by China’s Medog Dam upstream (see map, below).&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025022203024_37c60bd2a45a32cd23928c900615b6c7045b2e0265050c4761c3749361181999.png" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="2025022203024_37c60bd2a45a32cd23928c900615b6c7045b2e0265050c4761c3749361181999" data-rendition-name="original" width="1918" height="668" loading="lazy" alt="Himalayan rivers map"> </figure>  The thread running through all three books is the need to recognise the ecosystem services that the inhabitants of High Asia provide by protecting our rivers. Not all rivers need to be monetised, conserving rivers and the cultures they retain protects a nation’s natural wealth into the future as the humans of High Asia try to survive climate breakdown. The highlands will be under even more pressure in the coming decades as people in the plains migrate en masse to higher latitudes or higher altitudes to escape deadly heat and ocean expansion.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025022203028_524a74bf65111db3826bfd246576329c45cd4bd0a48b15024b6a520582bbf05a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="2025022203028_524a74bf65111db3826bfd246576329c45cd4bd0a48b15024b6a520582bbf05a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="River of Asian Highlands cover"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025022203028_20c17a9b92b11c8bb33df5f2fc2781498464288533c310ccd61e1245e709d99c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_22" data-image-id="2025022203028_20c17a9b92b11c8bb33df5f2fc2781498464288533c310ccd61e1245e709d99c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Unruly waters cover"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250222030212_649cc2ba02e806da2b128fccaf5de2e5c830e10646ba0b43d56da39f65a70f9f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_23" data-image-id="20250222030212_649cc2ba02e806da2b128fccaf5de2e5c830e10646ba0b43d56da39f65a70f9f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Chaalbato cover"> </figure>

Saving what is left of Himalayan rivers

Nepal’s diverse culture uses the bamboo plant for birth, death and all rituals in between. The <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=4149" target="_blank">versatile plant</a> is also used for construction, to make musical instruments, to carry things, to write with, even to eat. Now, bamboo groves are being used to protect villages near Chitwan National Park that are prone to frequent flooding due to climate breakdown. It is the smaller streams that are dry in winter that are the most destructive during the monsoon. So, farmers in the village of Madi are planting bamboo forests along the banks of streams that block floods and stop soil erosion. “Once the rainy season starts, we are afraid to close our eyes at night,” says Shanti Chapai, 58, who lives near the Patare Khola stream that burst its banks last year.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250131050140_921fabc56d34ec46d63c9e2c959ae6c8e0fb8f713c817263bba23b8167d31331.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250131050140_921fabc56d34ec46d63c9e2c959ae6c8e0fb8f713c817263bba23b8167d31331" data-rendition-name="original" width="2237" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Versatile bamboo reduces climate risk NT"> <figcaption>Google Earth images show the greening the floodplain of the Patare Khola over 15 years. Photos courtesy: ABARI</figcaption> </figure>  On a recent visit, the Patare Khola was just a small stream, it is hard to imagine that it would become a raging river in the rainy season, bursting its banks and threatening farms and settlements. Despite bamboo having everyday use for <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/basket-case-pahari-badikhel,3340" target="_blank">fencing, furniture and an important cash crop</a>, farmers here were initially opposed to the idea of using it for flood control. They thought bamboo was an invasive species, and sucked up all the groundwater.&nbsp; But for the past 15 years, the architects at ABARI (Adobe and Bamboo Research Institute) have been experimenting with a thorny bamboo species like Bambusa bluemeana and Bambusa balcooa to restore degraded land and control floods. The area is now a dense bamboo grove greening the floodplain of the Patare Khola.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250131050140_5be5c23532b33a9b6edceabc91dbac03eb9009d6d50a271fccc5854cdce337a4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250131050140_5be5c23532b33a9b6edceabc91dbac03eb9009d6d50a271fccc5854cdce337a4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1787" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Versatile bamboo reduces climate risk NT"> <figcaption>Thorny bamboo species planted in Madi. Photos: PINKI SRIS RANA</figcaption> </figure>  Sediment from last monsoon’s floods are deposited at the foot of the bamboo trees, proving that the plants stabilised the banks, protecting the surroundings by reducing the velocity of flood waters. Madi’s villagers are now convinced that this is an effective bioengineering solution to floods. Bamboo is also fast-growing, and is ideal for reclaiming the eroded banks of rivers. Nepal has more than 50 species of bamboo, most of them found in the wetter eastern plains and foothills. But some species grow at altitudes of up to 4,000. “Bamboo is a misunderstood plant in our culture because it is used for funeral rites and has a negative connotation,” says Nripal Adhikary ABARI, which builds bamboo and rammed earth buildings in Nepal. “It took a while to convince locals of its benefits.” Monsoons in Nepal have always been synonymous with disasters, but extreme weather events caused by climate breakdown have made landslides and floods worse. Poor construction of roads, unregulated quarrying of sensitive watersheds, and encroachment along floodplains increase the risk.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250131050140_348bd5586ddfa1444699535bcbeb98420c42645e796fb896d609bbb3d2e82ee3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250131050140_348bd5586ddfa1444699535bcbeb98420c42645e796fb896d609bbb3d2e82ee3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1793" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Versatile bamboo reduces climate risk NT"> <figcaption>Porcupine structured embankments provide protection in flood prone areas. </figcaption> </figure>  But here in Madi, villagers have seen with their own eyes the direct benefit of bamboo for flood protection. Says farmer Phadendra Bhattarai: “Even though there was heavy rainfall, the extent of flood damage this monsoon was considerably less. The bamboo acted as a barrier and did not let the floods destroy our crops.”&nbsp; This tried and tested bamboo plantation can be replicated and upscaled across Nepal, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/nepal-villages-cope-with-climate-induced-floods" target="_blank">farmers in Kanchanpur</a> in the western plains have also planted bamboo, napier and elephant grass along the banks of a river that unleashed destructive floods in 2018. A thick strategic bamboo plantation can be made into a fence of porcupine structured embankment to provide protection in flood prone areas. Floods in September in central Nepal killed<a href="https://www.bipad.gov.np/uploads/publication_pdf/SitRep_2_-_2024_September_Floods_and_Landslides.pdf" target="_blank"> 224 people</a> with southern Lalitpur and Kavre being hardest hit. The<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-flood-of-tears-on-the-rosi" target="_blank"> Rosi Valley</a> in Kavre was devastated, and settlements swept away entire slopes. But an area in the vicinity with bamboo plantation remained intact (pictured below).  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250131050140_edad071950f688ab95ff67450168a147f0f5f6d902cc8f468fc5bc540a912951.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250131050140_edad071950f688ab95ff67450168a147f0f5f6d902cc8f468fc5bc540a912951" data-rendition-name="original" width="1784" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Versatile bamboo reduces climate risk NT"> <figcaption>Photo: SAILESH RC</figcaption> </figure>  Dhaneswar Baikiya Community Forest in Kavre is half a hectare of plot bamboo planted by the government in a pilot project in 2007 to study and research the moso bamboo Phyllostachys pubescens. It has been 17 years and the Ministry of Forests and Environment’s Forest Research and Training Center had long forgotten about it. “Although no research has not been done here specifically in the plot, it is precisely this bamboo forest that saved villages down the mountains from major destruction,” says Badri Adhikari, custodian of the Community Forest. “Their expansive and entangled roots hold the soil firmly, protecting the slope’s stability.” This plot may have been overlooked but there have been other efforts. All 12 districts of Lumbini province<a href="https://kathmandupost.com/province-no-5/2021/07/01/lumbini-turns-to-bamboo-to-tame-rivers" target="_blank"> have initiated a bamboo plantation campaign</a> to prevent erosion and flooding.&nbsp; Traditionally, too, bamboo is believed to control landslides, and it is not uncommon to see villagers along the mountains reviving depleted bamboo groves once they see its benefits. Bsides landslide protection, the bamboo also has many other uses. Says Badri Adhikari: “The bamboo tree grows upwards in height during the summer and its roots expand in the winter. So, winter is the right time to prepare for the next monsoon of damaging floods.” This article is brought to you by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Times</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250131060116_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="20250131060116_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758" data-rendition-name="original" width="680" height="103" loading="lazy" alt="SDG logo"> </figure>

Versatile bamboo reduces climate risk

Despite countries amassing huge atomic arsenals, one reason deterrence has worked since the end of World War II, according to proponents, is that all-out nuclear war is so unthinkable.&nbsp; Yet, with no end in sight to fighting in Ukraine and West Asia, a new Cold War that pits US vs Russia and China, and the second coming of an erratic American president, have all made nuclear conflict thinkable in 2025 and beyond. Russia has repeatedly threatened the use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine and last month fired a new hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile at the Dnipro. And it has put into orbit a new <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/12/05/opinion/nuclear-weapons-space.html" target="_blank">prototype satellite</a> that can knock out other satellites with a nuclear explosion in space.&nbsp; Donald Trump and Benjamin Netyanyahu have reportedly spoken about a joint strike on Iranian nuclear installations. North Korea has been testing long range missiles for its nuclear warheads. Tensions remain high between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan. These dangers come on top of signs of accelerated climate breakdown with weather extremes, record-breaking heat, and rapid melting of polar icecaps and Himalayan glaciers. ‘The world-ending potential of nuclear weapons looms over populations around the world,’ writes Cameron Vega in <a href="https://thebulletin.org/2023/11/the-climate-blind-spot-in-nuclear-weapons-policy/" target="_blank">Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists</a>. ‘Climate change is a slower-moving catastrophe, but it openly threatens every community.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241226081236_8ebdd11d4d252d449b0347548372e1649de3637e1947f75609909bbf26d00555.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241226081236_8ebdd11d4d252d449b0347548372e1649de3637e1947f75609909bbf26d00555" data-rendition-name="original" width="800" height="533" loading="lazy" alt="Thinking the thinkable NT"> </figure>  The Bulletin’s <a href="https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/" target="_blank">Doomsday Clock</a> was reset to 90 seconds before midnight (from 100 seconds) in January this year due to ‘ominous trends that continue to point the world toward global catastrophe’. The minute hand on the Doomsday Clock has been reset 25 times since 1947, and it is most likely be brought forward to less than a minute in 2025. &nbsp; Both climate breakdown and nuclear war are human induced, but while one is heating up the planet the smoke and dust from explosions of the other will cool it. Either way, both threats are inextricably linked.&nbsp; Even the tactical use of battlefield nuclear weapons would have a climate impact. And climate-induced disasters, crop failures, water shortage, mass migration and ensuing socio-political unrest could spark wars that go nuclear. This is without even considering the long term effect of radioactive fallout on land, water and sea. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-022-00573-0" target="_blank">Research at Rutgers University</a> recently projected that even a one-week nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan would cause the collapse of food systems worldwide, killing 2 billion people from starvation. Prevailing winds would carry the fallout to the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau, irradiating glaciers that feed into all of Asia’s main rivers. An all-out nuclear war between the United States and Russia would cause a nuclear winter lasting more than 15 years, the study showed, unleashing a global famine that would kill 5 billion people.&nbsp; Anti-nuclear activists now challenge the security paradigm based on nuclear deterrence, and have instead pushed for a ban on nuclear weapons. At a meeting on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons at the United Nations in New York last December, members declared that the doctrine of deterrence used by nuclear-armed states and their allies was a threat to human security and an obstacle to nuclear disarmament.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241226081236_407d70a5620963d36f53e2c5718e0e12aad446374f358fb4b574701ee1f03e14.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241226081236_407d70a5620963d36f53e2c5718e0e12aad446374f358fb4b574701ee1f03e14" data-rendition-name="original" width="667" height="726" loading="lazy" alt="Thinking the thinkable NT"> </figure>  The meeting heard that deterrence is an unproven gamble and based on the implicit threat to use nuclear weapons which itself is playing brinkmanship with nuclear annihilation. “Deterrence is unacceptable,” stated Melissa Parke of <a href="https://www.icanw.org/people_and_structure" target="_blank">ICAN ((International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons)</a>. “It is based on the threat to wage nuclear war which would kill millions outright and lead to a nuclear winter and mass starvation that would kill billions of people.”&nbsp; ICAN was awarded the <a href="https://www.icanw.org/nobel_prize" target="_blank">Nobel Peace Prize in 2017</a> for its activism against the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of atomic weapons, and its work to push the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.&nbsp; It has been 50 years since the discussions on a draft of the <a href="http://www.un.org/disarmament/WMD/Nuclear/NPTtext.shtml" target="_blank">Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)</a> was first held in Geneva. The NPT entered into force in 1970, and has the membership of <a href="http://disarmament.un.org/treaties/t/npt" target="_blank">191 States</a>, with mandatory obligations on disarmament and non-proliferation.&nbsp; However, these commitments are now threatened by a new Cold War and increased global tensions. Nine nuclear weapon states have total stockpiles of 14,500 warheads, many of them on missiles ready to be launched. Three countries in Nepal’s immediate neighbourhood (China, India, Pakistan) have nuclear weapons, and they do not share good relations.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241226081236_cb12ff19e7ad0691773a0cc4a74b4f2b699832495aa90e5dc21462a287f11dcb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20241226081236_cb12ff19e7ad0691773a0cc4a74b4f2b699832495aa90e5dc21462a287f11dcb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1232" height="513" loading="lazy" alt="Doomsday clock"> </figure>  Of the five regions around the world that have declared themselves nuclear weapons free, three are in Asia: Central Asia, Mongolia and the South Pacific. The <a href="https://www.unrcpd.org/about/" target="_blank">United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD)</a> is located in Kathmandu and helps countries to meet disarmament goals. A report titled <a href="https://www.ippnw.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/ENGLISH-Nuclear-Famine-Report-Final-bleed-marks.pdf" target="_blank">Nuclear Famine</a> by the group <a href="https://www.ippnw.org/programs/nuclear-weapons-abolition/nuclear-famine-climate-effects-of-regional-nuclear-war" target="_blank">International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War</a> sounds a sobering alarm: even a limited nuclear war using only 100 weapons anywhere in the world would disrupt the global climate and agricultural production, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89_d9AFmk9Y&amp;t=83s" target="_blank">put 2 billion people at risk of starvation</a>. Coincidentally, 2 billion is also the number of people who would be affected by the melting of glaciers in the mountains of High Asia, according to the <a href="https://hkh.icimod.org/hi-wise/" target="_blank">International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)</a>. Given the twin global threats, climate activism now has to go hand-in-hand with the campaign to abolish nuclear weapons.&nbsp; Kunda Dixit This Editorial is brought to you by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Times</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.

Thinking the thinkable

Frontpage topic

Last month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the first official <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/reaction-to-wang-yi-s-nepal-visit-in-chinese-media">foreign visit </a>of the commission in her second term would be to India. On the same day, Marco Rubio held his first bilateral meeting as US Secretary of State with India’s minister of external affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Washington last month confirmed his country’s rising international profile. The visit ended with the promise of what Modi called a US-India “mega partnership.” He has committed to double trade with the US by 2030, increase <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/half-full/A-carbon-neutral-Nepal-is-possible-clean-Nepal,1064">oil and gas imports</a>, and expand US military sales to India.
India is now the fastest-growing major <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/how-nepal-can-avert-an-economic-crunch">economy</a>, with the IMF forecasting a 6.5% increase in GDP this year. India is expected to overtake Japan and Germany to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2030.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/india-s-election-and-its-economic-future">India’s election and its economic future</a>, Raghuram G Rajan
Despite its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/missing-out-on-nepal-s-tourism-potential">vast potential</a>, India has long been overlooked by the West, both <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/ukraine-crisis-hits-nepal-economy-hard">economically</a> and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-geopolitics-of-nepal-s-politics">geopolitically</a>. But a fundamental global realignment is now underway. America’s ‘unipolar moment’ has given way to an era of great-power competition that, unlike during the Cold War, features demands by emerging and developing economies for a more <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/making-nepal-accessible-to-all">inclusive </a>and representative multilateral system.&nbsp;
In this multipolar age, both the US and Europe see India, a neutral <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/no-binary-foreign-policy?fb_comment_id=3583384368393672_3586424038089705">foreign-policy </a>actor and dynamic<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18861"> emerging economy</a>, as vital to the future of their strategic priorities.&nbsp;
A founder of the Non-Aligned Movement, India has plenty of experience navigating precarious moments in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=4896">world affairs</a>. During the Cold War, it skillfully balanced its policies toward <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/america-nepal-and-the-royal-coup-qedzifz9">the US and the Soviet Union</a>.&nbsp;
When it engaged with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/so-far-so-good/the-vagaries-of-fate">the Soviet Union</a>, from which it received considerable <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/civil-military-synergy-in-disaster-management">military assistance</a>, it calibrated its approach to offset US support of Pakistan, without taking sides in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-rich-get-richer-and-more-powerful">great-power competition</a>.&nbsp;
India has since maintained this pragmatic balancing act, adapting its foreign policy to a shifting geopolitical landscape. Today, that means recognising its potential to shape global affairs, including by playing a leading role in building an efficient, realistic, and inclusive multilateralism.&nbsp;
This is reflected in Modi’s pursuit of a more assertive, internationalist foreign policy. Beyond building new partnerships and strengthening old ones, Modi has sought to increase <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/india-s-hindutva-politics-influencing-nepal">India’s influence </a>in traditional and emerging multilateral fora. In 2023 alone, India held the presidency of both the G20 and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (a Chinese creation, comprising nine Middle Eastern and Asian countries).&nbsp;
India plays a leading role in the BRICS, and is characteristically nuanced: whereas Russia and, to a significant extent, China see themselves as disruptors of the existing order, India views itself as a reformer. This enables it to maintain strategic flexibility as it advances its interests.&nbsp;
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/india-china-rail-race">India’s relationship with China</a> is complicated by other factors. While the countries work together in some fora, they are also locked in protracted<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/india-bangladesh-border-talks-have-lessons-for-nepal"> territorial disputes</a> and a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-race-for-shital-nibas">competition for leadership</a> in the so-called Global South.&nbsp;
India’s growing global clout, including its appeal to Western powers, stems in large part from its ability to act as a counterweight to China. It is indispensable to the Quad alliance with Australia, Japan, and the US, a grouping that is officially focused on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-quad-maritime-security-and-climate-change">maritime security</a> and economic cooperation, though its members clearly seek to provide a buffer against China in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/between-two-oceans">Indo-Pacific region</a>. It is thanks to India that the Quad is not viewed as just another Western vehicle.&nbsp;
Modi has sought to bolster India’s Southern credentials, including by highlighting its status as the “mother of democracy”. By framing <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/is-democracy-too-expensive-for-nepal">democracy</a> as intrinsic to Indian civilisation, rather than a colonial legacy, he aligned India with ‘middle powers’ seeking to redefine global governance on their own terms.&nbsp;
To be sure, Modi has moved India away from the secular and pluralistic values that had flourished after <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-goal-is-empowerment-and-independence-of-women">independence</a>, in favour of assertive <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/unconventional-convention">Hindu nationalism</a>. So many international indices have downgraded India’s democratic status that he is now seeking to create his own.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/demodification-of-india">Demodification of India</a>, Chandrakishore&nbsp;
Modi is the second leader of independent India (after Jawaharlal Nehru) to be elected to three consecutive terms, and remains a dominant force in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/india-s-faith-in-politics">Indian politics</a>.&nbsp;
And at a time of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-geopolitics-of-nepal-s-water-and-electricity">rapid geopolitical change</a>, he is committed to leveraging his position, and India’s profound strengths, to turn it into a global player. India has long had the potential to be an active shaper of international affairs. It has now arrived. &nbsp;&nbsp;© Project Syndicate
Ana Palacio, a former minister of foreign affairs of Spain and former senior vice president and general counsel of the World Bank Group, is a visiting lecturer at Georgetown University.

India has arrived

Rameshwor Bhaiya was a mailman and a chowkidar rolled into one. He was stationed at Southfield Loreto College in Darjeeling for many many years, until he retired.
I learned the other day from a WhatsApp group that he recently passed away at a hospital in Siliguri after battling throat <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-other-pandemic-cancer">cancer</a> for a long time. I had forgotten all about him until I saw the message.&nbsp;
Rameshwor Bhaiya was a petite, agile man, always taking mails to the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/is-nepal-entering-the-post-post-office-era">post office </a>and fetching them back. He was always busy, walking with brisk, soft steps, sometimes stopping in the lunchroom for a glass of water, the last one sitting down to eat because the mail had to be done in the first hour.&nbsp;
For his physical stature, I cannot recall how he managed his guard work, but he must have been good at that too, because he kept some 500 girls safe everyday.
Rameshwor Bhaiya always wore his hair oiled and combed back with a side parting, neatly. His postal bag slung over his shoulder, the strap falling across his chest was bulky on some days and some days it would be shriveled up and swinging in the air with the lack of weight.&nbsp;
He wore gray or khaki sweaters mostly and a jacket the same tint. His trousers were in the same shades too, and once in a while, he would spot a colourful shirt -- there was a maroon one with a fading collar. The V of one of his V-neck sweaters had come undone and looked like a Y with a short tail instead and I don’t remember that he ever fixed it.
I do not even remember his full name. But we all understood from a way of understanding caste and religion in South Asia that he was a Hindu, North Indian man who had moved to<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Connecting-dots/Darjeeling-and-the-idea-of-Nepal,944"> Darjeeling</a> for work. We never understood where his family was because he lived on campus.
The Southfield building was known to have once been the summer palace of a Maharaja of Burdwan, and by then had become Rameshwor Bhaiya’s home. He lived in a small room on the ground floor of the building, close to the lift. Sometimes, he would point at the lift and explain how the pulley worked. It had to be pulled by men to move the lift users up and down the two-storey durbar. But as chowkidar, Rameshwor Bhaiya was the sole nighttime occupant of that house.
In the morning, he woke up to the nuisance of monkeys from the Mahakal temple right above Southfield. And the morning would get noisier as the cleaners came in and then the girls and the teacher would start to trickle in, first slowly and then in quick steps and in full numbers as the bell for the first class went off.
My roommate Meenu and I were sincere letter writers. We wrote to parents, to friends, to admirers sometimes. Sometimes, to boys we crushed on. (I mean, I did.) Meenu was always more careful about how she put her feelings out there. But she was the one always doing couriers home. Her mother would send her parathas and achar and ladoo by courier, all the way from Phuentsholing, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/small-bhutan-dreams-big">Bhutan</a>, our midnight snack. So, Meenu maintained a cordial relationship with Rameshwor Bhaiya.
Our hostel was in Springfield and we were only allowed outings on weekends, which meant mails had to often wait a whole week until Saturday. On Sundays we couldn’t mail. That was when Rameshwor Bhaiya would come to our rescue. If we needed to send a mail to the post office or courier something on weekdays, we would give it to him and he would make sure it was done. For us, the Indian postal service’s efficiency thrived on Rameshwor Bhaiya’s existence.
When we returned to hostel life from our holidays, some of us would bring little gifts to the staff. I used to bring pustakari from Nepal for Rameshwor Bhaiya. He said once that it hurt his mouth to suck on them but he still enjoyed it. He was more of a connoisseur of paan, but he appreciated the gesture.
The campus was always bustling with staff, but when I think of Rameshwor Bhaiya letters instantly come to mind. There was the post office and the smell of mail and the feeling of rippling open an envelope and thrusting the fingers into it to reveal its content to the self.&nbsp;
Once or twice, I had surprise letters from a secret admirer and I was worried they would be discovered. No, having a boyfriend was not encouraged. In fact, we were often pre-emtively reminded of the student who went on a walk to the mall road with her boyfriend and was gang-raped by strangers, an incident Late Peter J Karthak records in one of his novels.
So, we led sheltered lives. Mama’s girls and Daddy’s girls, all huddled together in classrooms, heads buried in textbooks, but our minds wondering who to borrow the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/14-books-to-read-gift-love-this-valentine-s">next romance novel</a> from. Cloistered, free of the world’s strings, we bubbled with hope for all kinds of things. Mostly, for what our <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/scoring-a-better-future-for-nepals-soccer-girls">future as women</a> in the real world would be like.
And in his own little way, Rameshwor Bhaiya made lives possible for us because he brought us letters, documents, exam results, notices from the University of West Bengal.
“Is there a letter for me, Rameshwor Bahiya?” Sometimes he would joke and say no even if there was one. Usually there was no mail for me at Southfield. But there was always Rameshwor Bhaiya with his postal bag -- the bag of hope.
Suburban Tales is a monthly column in Nepali Times based on real people (with some names changed) in Pratibha’s life.

The man who came bearing letters

The fact that the festival of Holi is celebrated on two different days in Nepal this week is itself an indication of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepalis-moving-from-mountains-to-plains">how the mountains and plains of Nepal</a> are culturally united. The full moon day of Fagu Purnima is marked with much merriment in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/knowing-our-mountains-43v4iyvo">mountains</a> on Thursday, while the festival of colours is celebrated on Friday in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-tarai-s-shrinking-forests">the Tarai</a>. And it would be fair to say that the passion with which <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/holi-in-birganj">Holi in the plains </a>is several times more intense. In fact, along the Nepal Tarai, holi is celebrated on both days. In many places in Birganj, Janakpur and Rajbiraj, young Hindu or Muslim, Madhesi or Pahadi, celebrate each other’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/festivals-of-sisterhood">festivals</a> together. The 2021 census shows that more than half the country’s population now lives <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-tarai-learns-from-past-floods">in the Tarai</a>, and this coexistence has made the Holi mosaic in the Tarai even more colourful.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250312040356_6026f407093ac0acaf39542e71a72279fc67226e50e0f3b2a3e10dc436f58d40.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250312040356_6026f407093ac0acaf39542e71a72279fc67226e50e0f3b2a3e10dc436f58d40" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Holi story 2"> </figure>  The festival proves that as long as the rulers on either side of these borderlands do not mix <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/volatile-mix-of-politics-and-religion">politics with religion</a>, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/decoding-diversity">Nepalis of all faiths and ethnicities</a> can get along as they have for centuries. And example of this are the tradition of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-folk-songs-move-beyond-love-and-loss">folk songs</a> in the Bhojpuri language sung during the Holi festival by people in India and Nepal.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15948">Many tongues, one voice</a>, Amar Kanta Jha One such song actually prays for the prosperity of Nepal: ‘Blessed be Nepal,<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/a-thousand-sadhus-and-a-hanuman"> the land of Pashupati </a>which I will decorate with gold and sprinkle Nepal with silver.’ The lyrics of this song are contained in a 1948 Hindi book, Bhojpuri Folk Songs shows that reverence for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-healer-of-pashupati">Pashupati </a>and its role as Nepal’s patron deity is part of the culture on both sides of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/india-s-border-trains-that-connected-nepal">Nepal-India border</a>.&nbsp; The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/languages-are-both-software-and-hardware">language</a> is a bond that ties the people of these borderlands together, but it is also the festival of Holi that cements the people-to-people relations. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/margins/songs-from-chomolungma">folk songs</a> sung during the festival have been passed down for generations, highlighting the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/barbwire-borders">age-old ties</a>. Holi is celebrated all week this week in Nepal as well as in India with communities gathering in the evenings to sing the ‘Hori’ folk songs. With <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-road-out-of-nepal">outmigration</a>, it is mostly older people who take part in these rituals and there are fewer and fewer people every year who can sing the songs. “The cultural erosion had been happening, but it is accelerating in recent years,” says Harinder Himkar, a historian from the neighbouring Indian state of Bihar. “Because of this, mutual closeness of people <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-india-trans-boundary-bonds">in the border regions of India and Nepal</a> have also diminished.”&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025031205030_a0fecd32df939e0a3f642585d9f3133683e7cf332511d20c34b78534a6fdd4bf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_19" data-image-id="2025031205030_a0fecd32df939e0a3f642585d9f3133683e7cf332511d20c34b78534a6fdd4bf" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Holi 3"> </figure>  Holi is a festival of love, intimacy and celebration of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/kathmandus-silent-spring">spring</a>. It is flirtatious, and represents the changing of the seasons and new beginnings. Which is why the songs sung are happy and optimistic despite the daily grind that the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/strength-in-numbers-for-female-farmers">farming communities</a> here are engaged in. It is believed that<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-deities-in-transit"> the deities </a>Krishna, Shiva, Ram and Sita all splashed colours on each other, and humans are just emulating their merrymaking. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/eastern-melodies-in-kathmandu">Folk songs</a> are by definition old. They are moulded by centuries of experience and knowledge that makes them relevant to this day. No one knows who wrote these songs, or who gave them music, and yet they are immortal. This particular Bhojpuri folk song sung at Holi, reminds us that Nepal is an ancient country, and it is Pashupati that is the holy bond. Says cultural historian Ramsharan Agrawal from Sitamarhi, just across the border in Bihar state: “The folk song proves that the ties that bind our civilisations together are ancient, and the fact that there are references to Pashupati and wishing prosperity on the people of Nepal shows just how interconnected we were, and are.” Holi may be celebrated differently on different dates in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/to-save-the-tarai-save-the-siwalik">the Tarai</a> and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/conserving-mountains-for-people-and-nature">the mountains</a>, but it is a festival of solidarity between <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-is-turning-into-a-nation-of-hybrid-identities">different ethnicities </a>and geographies of Nepal. ‘Holi Friendship Ceremonies’ are held in just about every town along the border. Just like the song itself says: “May you be happy all year round, like today.” "आरे धन्य नगर नयपाल हो लाला, धन्य नगर नयपाल हो । आरे जाहवां विराजे पशुपति बाबा, धन्य नगर नयपाल हो। आहो कथिये छवइबो में बाबा के मन्दिलवा, आहो लाला,कथिये छवइबो नयपाल हो सोनवे छविइबो में बाबा के मन्दिलवा रूपवे छवइबो नयपाल हो।" Chandrakishore is a Birganj-based commentator who writes this monthly column Borderlines for Nepali Times. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/un-holi-colours">Un-Holi Colours</a>, Ashish Dhakal

Holi days along the border

Of all the geopolitical stunts <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/trump-s-second-coming">Donald Trump</a> has pulled since returning to the White House, the United States’ votes at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 4 March stand out as the most revealing. The US opposed a seemingly innocuous resolution establishing an International Day of Peaceful Coexistence and reaffirming the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/how-will-nepal-develop-in-the-next-decade"> UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development</a>. Despite its symbolic nature, the US voted against the resolution, with representative Edward Heartney <a href="https://archive.ph/o/8f1Hp/https:/usun.usmission.gov/remarks-at-the-un-meeting-entitled-58th-plenary-meeting-of-the-general-assembly/" target="_blank">explaining</a> that the US ‘rejects and denounces the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, and it will no longer reaffirm them as a matter of course’.&nbsp; Despite US opposition, the resolution ultimately passed with 162 countries voting in favour, two abstaining, and only three, the US, Israel and Argentina, voting against. Then the US was the sole vote against a resolution reaffirming ‘the right of everyone to education … including equal opportunities for young women' likely because it conflicted with a pillar of the Trump administration’s domestic agenda: dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250311100316_36e63634a5e29d69a64b4245e40401c4f731ee12a6918545f64e04023762bf09.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250311100316_36e63634a5e29d69a64b4245e40401c4f731ee12a6918545f64e04023762bf09" data-rendition-name="original" width="800" height="533" loading="lazy" alt="UNGA 1"> <figcaption>The General Assembly also voted on a draft resolution titled Education for democracy with only the United States voting against it.</figcaption> </figure>  These moves may well foreshadow America’s withdrawal from the UN, something Elon Musk and other Trump supporters have <a href="https://archive.ph/o/8f1Hp/https:/nypost.com/2025/03/02/us-news/elon-musk-appears-to-back-us-withdrawing-from-nato-the-un/" target="_blank">urged</a>. Trump has <a href="https://archive.ph/o/8f1Hp/https:/theconversation.com/trump-pulls-out-of-who-and-paris-how-did-international-bodies-get-through-deglobalisation-last-time-around-247919" target="_blank">already pulled</a> the US out of the WHO, and abandoned the Paris climate agreement.&nbsp; His administration has also <a href="https://archive.ph/o/8f1Hp/https:/www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/withdrawing-the-united-states-from-and-ending-funding-to-certain-united-nations-organizations-and-reviewing-united-states-support-to-all-international-organizations/" target="_blank">withdrawn</a> the US from several UN bodies, including the Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and is now reassessing its involvement in the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).&nbsp; This week, the non-profit group Civicusannounced the inclusion of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/09/watchlist-decline-civic-freedoms-civicus">US on its 2026 Watchlist</a>, alongside the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Italy, Pakistan and Serbia. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/trump-s-first-month">The Trump administration </a>is not merely unhappy with certain international institutions, it is fundamentally opposed to any multilateral framework that even suggests equality among countries. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/trump-shock-wave-hits-nepal">Trump shock wave hits Nepal</a>, Sudiksha Tuladhar Some analysts <a href="https://archive.ph/o/8f1Hp/https:/theglobalobservatory.org/2024/11/what-might-be-in-store-for-the-united-nations-under-a-second-trump-presidency/" target="_blank">argue</a> that a complete US withdrawal from the UN is unlikely, given the disproportionate influence America wields through its Security Council veto. But given Trump’s law-of-the-jungle approach to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-geopolitics-of-nepal-s-politics">geopolitics </a>even that advantage may no longer seem essential. Should the US leave the UN, the financial consequences could be immediate and severe. As the UN’s largest financial backer, the US <a href="https://archive.ph/o/8f1Hp/https:/financingun.report/un-financing/un-funding/funding-entity" target="_blank">contributed a record $18.1 billion</a> in 2022, accounting for roughly 20% of the organization’s total funding. Notably, more than <a href="https://archive.ph/o/8f1Hp/https:/financingun.report/un-financing/un-funding/funding-entity" target="_blank">70%</a> of US contributions went to just four UN entities: 40% to the World Food Programme (WFP), 12% to the High Commissioner for Refugees, 10% to UNICEF, and another 10% to the Department of Peace Operations. And since much of this funding was <a href="https://archive.ph/o/8f1Hp/https:/oig.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2023-05/UN%20Orgs%20Graphic%20051823.pdf" target="_blank">channeled through USAID</a> which Trump has shut down, it may have already vanished. Given the current geopolitical climate, it would take nothing short of a miracle for other governments to step in immediately to fill the gap. As a result, many critical and life-saving UN programs are now at risk.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-great-game-2nd-half">The Great Game, 2nd Half</a>, Sonia Awale The paradigm shift in US foreign policy does not necessarily signal the impending decline or outright collapse of multilateralism and the UN system despite the Trump administration bullying individual countries rather than work through international institutions.&nbsp; As the world’s leading superpower turns its back on global cooperation, the system of multilateral governance that the US helped establish nearly eight decades ago could begin to unravel. Paradoxically, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/trump-s-diminishing-power-and-rising-rage">Trump’s actions</a> could also serve as a catalyst for greater <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/how-usaid-cut-affects-nepal">international cooperation</a>, impelling other countries to work together more closely. The reason is simple: no matter how vehemently the White House denies it, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/living-with-climate-anxiety">humanity’s most pressing challenges</a> are global in nature. They will not go away simply because Trump refuses to acknowledge them. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/nepal-needs-to-get-its-climate-act-together">Climate change</a>, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/environmental-destruction-is-a-medical-emergency">environmental degradation</a>, extreme <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/institutionalised-inequality">inequality</a>, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/is-free-health-care-possible-in-nepal">emerging health threats</a>, the rise of disruptive <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/tech-and-transition-in-nepal">new technologies</a>, and the erosion of stable employment all transcend national borders.&nbsp; Global solidarity is thus not just a moral imperative but an existential one. Many political leaders seem to understand this and <a href="https://archive.ph/o/8f1Hp/https:/geopolitique.eu/en/2025/03/06/lula-ramaphosa-sanchez-joining-forces-to-overcome-global-challenges/" target="_blank">remain committed to multilateralism</a>. International negotiations on taxation, climate action, and development financing are moving forward, even without US participation. In fact, the absence of the US, which has all too often acted as a spoiler anyway even under previous administrations, could pave the way for more ambitious and effective global agreements. In this sense, the current climate of uncertainty and upheaval could represent a unique opportunity to build a truly international movement for progressive change.©Project Syndicate&nbsp; Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is a member of the Club of Rome’s Transformational Economics Commission.

The UN vs Trump 2.0

In the first 30 days of his <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/trump-s-second-coming">second presidential term</a>, Donald Trump and his associates have been engaged in what some have described as a slow-moving political coup. &nbsp;
The incoming president has undertaken what amounts to a full-scale attack on institutional checks and balances and on civil and political rights. He has launched sharp policy reversals in critical areas of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/poor-health">public health</a>, social services, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/don-t-fix-what-ain-t-broke">environmental protection</a>. And in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/at-home-and-abroad">foreign policy</a>, he has upended decades-old political and military alignments intended to defend against potential aggression by autocratic rivals such as Russia and China. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Elsewhere in the world, similar actions have led to the emergence of what political scientists have called “<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/people-power-removes-bangladesh-leader">competitive authoritarian regimes</a>,” ones in which democratic institutions become facades that disguise the reality of autocratic control.&nbsp;
Although it is far too soon to say how Trump’s onslaught will end, it is very important to highlight the major differences between his current threats to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/is-democracy-too-expensive-for-nepal">democracy</a> and those posed <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-climate-stakes-of-the-us-election">during his first term</a>. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Trump 1.0 attacked deeply held norms of political discourse and practice, intensifying the social polarisation that had carried him to victory. But U.S. political and constitutional institutions remained more or less intact. Challenges to the democratic system—including on January 6—were contained by congressional opposition, by the courts, by the press, and by civil society. Even—or perhaps especially—resistance from within the Republican party itself also provided an important check on Trump’s abuses of power.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/trumpet-call">Trumpet Call</a>, Shristi Karki&nbsp;
The threat that Trump currently poses to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/un-united-states-of-america">U.S. democracy</a> is far more profound, because it targets legal and constitutional institutions as well as norms. The Congress—currently under the control of now fully loyal Republican majorities—has failed to push back against attacks on independent agencies, the dismissal of Inspectors General, and efforts to weaken or eliminate congressionally mandated government agencies through mass firings and the freezing of funds, beginning with the virtual <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/how-usaid-cut-affects-nepal">dismantling of USAID</a>.&nbsp;
A supine Senate has acquiesced to the high-level political appointments of people once considered far outside the mainstream, and it is sitting quietly by while Elon Musk wields extraordinary power to “reform” the state bureaucracy. &nbsp;
Lower courts have moved to block some of these initiatives, but it remains to be seen whether their rulings will be backed by the highly conservative Supreme Court, or even whether Trump will abide by them if they are. Meanwhile, the press, popular movements, and big business—all important checks during the first Trump term—appear dazed, confused, and intimidated this time around. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
So far, the speed and volume of Trump’s actions has kept both supporters and opponents off-balance. Although some of his initiatives are transparently illegal, he has also exploited many gray areas of the law; and, as in other backsliding democracies, this makes it difficult for opponents to coalesce against such challenges.&nbsp;
Worse still, the damage done by some of Trump’s (and Musk’s) early initiatives—particularly to government agencies responsible for health, environment, education, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/missing-links-in-nepal-s-mcc-debate">foreign assistance</a>, and other critical functions—may already be irreversible. The toll can be measured in lost expertise, interruption of crucial research, suspension of vital services, and increasing threats to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/food-security-is-national-security">national security</a>. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
To understand the magnitude of the threats we currently face in the United States, it is useful to place them in a comparative perspective. In a previous analysis of 16 cases of “<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/stemming-asia-s-democratic-decay">democratic backsliding</a>,” Stephan Haggard and I distinguished between countries where would-be autocrats succeeded in consolidating authoritarian control over the system (“competitive authoritarian regimes”), and those in which they did not.&nbsp;
In both Brazil under Jair Bolsonaro and the United States under Trump 1.0, opposition groups retained critical institutional leverage in the courts, the legislature, and the states, and they were able to successfully contain autocratic initiatives. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/trump-shock-wave-hits-nepal">Trump shock wave hits Nepal</a>, Sudiksha Tuladhar
Conversely, in countries such as Hungary, Turkey, and Venezuela, elected autocrats headed political movements that gained control of these constitutional institutions, and this control, in turn, provided a cover of legitimacy which allowed them to disempower the opposition and undermine their democratic systems. &nbsp;
Much more than Trump 1.0, the current incarnation of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/trump-s-diminishing-power-and-rising-rage">Trump presidency </a>bears a substantial resemblance to the democracies that devolved into competitive authoritarianism. Like other backsliders we have analysed, our Congress has enabled, rather than constrained, Trump’s attempts to expand his authority. The independence of the Supreme Court remains in doubt. And much of the opposition is divided and demoralised. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
We have not yet crossed the autocratic threshold, however. Trump’s bid to consolidate power continues to face important challenges that can become increasingly consequential over time. First, while constitutional institutions have been weakened, they remain alive. As noted above, lower courts have so far continued to provide important avenues for efforts to block or at least slow <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-world-should-prepare-for-trump">Trump’s destructive initiatives</a>.&nbsp;
Moreover, it is far from impossible for the opposition party to regain its footing. At the national level, to be sure, the Democrats have very little leverage, but their continued control of many state and city governments offers platforms for significant opposition.&nbsp;
Civil society organisations are also likely to find their voices as the initial shock of the Trump presidency diminishes. And despite the pressure that it is under, the media remains a far more robust forum of opposition and criticism than its counterparts in countries that have yielded to authoritarian takeovers.
As I have written elsewhere, there are also internal fissures within the Trump coalition that are likely to widen as the initial honeymoon fades. The corporate sector—especially the technology giants—have rushed to curry favour with the new administration, in the hope of benefitting from lower taxes and deregulation.But big business is also severely threatened by the disruption of supply chains, high tariffs on imports, attacks on the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-truth-about-migration">immigrant labour force</a>, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-geopolitics-of-nepal-s-politics">geopolitical instability</a>. For example, the automotive sector, which is a major employer in the upper Midwest and in a number of red states, faces major challenges from tariffs on steel and restrictions on the imports of parts and materials. &nbsp;
Finally, Trump will face defections from his own voters as his trade and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/two-decades-of-debate-on-female-migration">immigration policies</a> begin to undermine their aspirations for stable prices and secure employment. And discontent will grow if the administration fails to fend off new public health crises or if it proves unable to manage international conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Asia. &nbsp;&nbsp;
To be sure, despite these problems, the MAGA base (about 30%of the electorate) is very likely to remain loyal; and in the current media environment, many other Trump voters might be confused about who is accountable for the difficulties they are experiencing. &nbsp;&nbsp;
But in contrast to elected autocrats such as Orban or Erdogan, Trump’s electoral support has been weak to begin with—less than 50% in the 2024 elections—and approval rates are already beginning to fall. In our polarised society, we cannot expect Trump’s electoral support to collapse entirely, but the defection of at least some of his voters is likely to provide some wind at the back of the Democratic opposition and to weaken the loyalty of some Republican political leaders. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
The launch of Trump 2.0 has been extremely frightening, and as noted, some of the damage it has already inflicted on the state’s capacity to provide public services and international security will be extremely difficult—or even impossible—to repair. &nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-great-game-2nd-half">The Great Game, 2nd Half</a>, Sonia Awale
Even if Trump’s initiatives are eventually blocked, moreover, the long-term health of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/nepal-s-illiberal-democracy">our democratic system</a> will remain precarious in the absence of new and innovative approaches to our long-standing social and political problems.&nbsp;
But whether or not such approaches succeed, preventing a descent into authoritarianism would be no small achievement. At the very least, it would leave the road open for the construction of a fairer and more robust democratic system after Trump leaves the scene. &nbsp;
Robert R. Kaufman is an Emeritus Professor of Political Science, Rutgers University. &nbsp;He is co-author of Backsliding: Democratic Regress in the Contemporary World, Cambridge University Press, 2021.
This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished from <a href="https://toda.org/global-outlook/2025/trumps-first-month-flooding-the-zone.html">the original</a> with their permission.

Trump’s First Month

There is something uniquely haunting about an <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/crash-course">air crash</a>. It is the kind of catastrophe that is both sudden and protracted, a fleeting moment of terror seemingly suspended in time, leaving behind the kind of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/business/April-earthquake-was-followed-by-more-devastating-economic-upheaval,2772#google_vignette">wreckage </a>that is measured not just in debris but in the lives it claims and the lives it shatters of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-tale-of-four-nepalis-in-mumbai">loved ones who are left behind</a>.&nbsp; The midair<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/lukla-plane-chopper-collision-kills-3-e9vw17vw"> collision</a> near the Washington Reagan National Airport last month that claimed 67 lives was the deadliest <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/18-dead-in-nepal-aircraft-crash">aviation disaster</a> on US soil in nearly 25 years. In those final moments, flight recorder data indicates how the pilots of the doomed American Airlines flight fought against fate itself, pulling the nose of the plane up, desperately trying to salvage even a sliver of hope. This is similar to what happened to Pakistan International Airlines flight 8303 in Karachi five years ago. But tragically, it was too late.&nbsp; In the seconds before impact, perhaps they too, like many others before them, felt their entire lives unfold before their eyes, as I too had experienced. For those who remain, there is something deeply unsettling about a tragedy like this. We cycle through horror, grief, and a helpless kind of sorrow, knowing that nothing we do can rewind time or rewrite history. But there is something else, too — a quiet, unspoken responsibility. When people vanish in<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/tragedy-at-tia"> preventable tragedies</a>, the burden of their loss does not just belong to their families, it belongs to all of us. It forces us to confront questions of justice, accountability, and, perhaps most agonisingly, the randomness of fate itself. I know this weight personally. On May 22, 2020, I boarded a PIA flight that never truly landed. It was meant to be a routine trip home for Eid, a simple journey from Lahore to Karachi. Instead, the plane crash-landed in a densely populated neighborhood, killing 97 of the 99 people on board. I was one of the two who survived. Survival from such an accident is not just a miracle — it is a paradox. Why me? Why not them? These questions live inside me, dormant yet ever-present, stirring awake every time another tragedy unfolds.&nbsp; When I read about the Washington crash, I could imagine the chaos in the cockpit, the passengers gripping their seats, the terrible weight of inevitability in those final moments. And I visualise the collateral survivors — the families left behind, the air traffic controllers who might have caught a different detail, the people who changed their flight at the last moment. Because after a tragedy, survival itself feels like both a gift and a debt. And that debt demands to be repaid. Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/airfields-without-airplanes"> Airfields without airplanes</a> We cannot change what happened over the skies of Washington. But we can ask ourselves: What do we owe to those who perished? We owe them the truth. The investigations must be relentless. Early reports indicate scrutiny on air traffic controller staffing, the complexity of Washington’s airspace, and possible miscalculations in altitude. The families of the victims deserve more than vague reassurances. They deserve transparency, accountability, and a system that does not repeat its failures. We owe them change. The Federal Aviation Administration’s new restrictions on helicopter traffic near Reagan National Airport are a start, but they are not enough. We owe them a memory. Tragedies fade from headlines, but grief lingers in the bones of those left behind. Memorials, safety reforms, foundations — these are the ways in which those who pass on are not forgotten. We owe them our lives, fully lived. If you have ever escaped death, you know that every breath afterward feels borrowed. The burden of survival is the question of purpose — what will you do with this bonus life? It is easy to sink into guilt, to let grief dictate your days.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/fatalism-and-fatalities">Fatalism and fatalities</a>, Sonia Awale But the real tribute to the dead is to live with the kind of intention they no longer have the chance to. It is to love harder, to be kinder, to leave no important words unsaid. It is to make sure that when your own final moment comes — whether in a slow fade or in the sudden, brutal rupture of an accident — you are at peace with the life you have led. In the end, every tragedy leaves behind lessons. The only question is whether we choose to learn from them. I have shared my peculiar lessons as a survivor of an air crash which I owe on my part to humanity in my latest book ‘Seat 1C’.&nbsp; May we, the living, carry the memory of those who have died forward with the weight and honour it deserves. Zafar Masud is an international banker and founder of the Zafar Masud Foundation which focuses on passenger and airplane safety regulations. ‘Seat 1C: A Survivor’s Tale of Hope, Resilience and Renewal’ (Lightstone Publishers, Pakistan, and Rupa, India) was launched at the Lahore Literary Festival on 22 February. This is a Sapan News syndicated feature.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250223080228_8bf73dc035afd137c708e63cda5f7ce0c014ccfb2c84945e1b3dd13a805c5e40.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250223080228_8bf73dc035afd137c708e63cda5f7ce0c014ccfb2c84945e1b3dd13a805c5e40" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Seat 1C Book cover "> </figure>  &nbsp;

Humanity after the crash

Nepali Times 1252

If there is no one way to live life, there is no one way to be a writer. And if <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/writing-about-nepal-from-afar">writing </a>advice could be summed up into a book written specifically for the South Asian writer and reader, How I Write would be just the one. Edited by Sonia Faleiro, founder of the literary mentorship program South Asia Speaks, the book is a collection of conversations that began as masterclasses at the program. Once exclusive to the fellows in the program, the book makes the invaluable knowledge and experience of 30 writers open to all.&nbsp; Featured writers have deep connections with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/south-asia-2040-qxr16oup">South Asia</a> and write about the region’s life through <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/novelist-returns-to-non-fiction">fiction and non-fiction</a>, prose and poetry. A conversation between two writers, the interviews are candid, thoughtful, and poignant, even funny.&nbsp; In one light-hearted moment, Mira Kamdar asks Suketu Mehta how writing and life relate to each other, and before diving into the details of the answer, Mehta mentions, “I’ve been cooking a lot.”&nbsp; Mansi Choksi shares a vulnerable side of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/1-000-weeks-of-nepali-times">publishing world</a>, when she felt like a failure because The New York Times did not review her book. Moments like these remind us that an aspiring writer must eventually graduate from the label of ‘genius’ or ‘artist’, to a life with real responsibilities and expectations, and write within the joys and pains of that very life. Read Kamila Shamsie with Sanam Maher when it is difficult to let go of the words. Shamsie is stoic about chopping off 30,000 words if her writing calls for it. Read V V Ganeshananthan with Sonia Faleiro when the writing process takes forever. It took Ganeshananthan 18 years to write Brotherless Nights.&nbsp; Read: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/so-far-so-good/writing-about-writing">Writing about writing</a>, Lisa Choegyal Each conversation is a stand-alone piece and does not require to be read in chronological order. But the conversations themselves are inevitably in conversation with each other. The book also introduces writers with South Asian roots to readers. Many of their works, while accomplished in their own right, are not readily available in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-story-of-books-in-nepal">bookstores in Kathmandu</a>. What How I Write does is give the reader reasons to come across the writers when and where possible.&nbsp; The conversations in the book do not shy away from critiques, like the West-dominated publishing industry and its repercussions on the reader and the writer, a theme explored throughout many interviews. Vauhini Vara shares, ‘….it must be really frustrating to be a writer in South Asia interested in writing for a global audience, say the US, because there’s this very restricting idea in the US about what’s interesting and what’s going to sell.’&nbsp; Many agree on the need to stay true to one’s story and to fight through what the industry might at times force on the writer. Adding on to what the industry refers to as a marketable writer, Manjushree Thapa says, ‘It’s been important for me to step back and say, “Look, I need to keep evolving as a writer, and I need to be honest to my writing desires. I don’t want to be just a writer from Nepal who did this in the past. I’m going to write in the future.”’ Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/finding-a-permanent-home-in-poetry">Finding a permanent home in poetry</a>, Pinki Sris Rana The lived experiences of the writers are stories in themselves. Some have gone and done their MFAs, some stumbled into writing, some are journalists who are writers, some are writers who have never studied journalism but teach journalism, and some host podcasts.&nbsp; There is no one way to be a writer, there is no one designated path. But if there is one common overlapping idea, is it this: there is no easy way to write, no quick fix. With every book, the writers are lost. They experiment, they learn. They toil through doubt and continue to write for the love and labour of it all.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025022714028_fed6ec52e80a23d8a3fa181149403c96ce6f890b54077d7a13612267189a7f7c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="2025022714028_fed6ec52e80a23d8a3fa181149403c96ce6f890b54077d7a13612267189a7f7c" data-rendition-name="original" width="640" height="395" loading="lazy" alt="Book details "> </figure>  &nbsp;

With love, labour and writing

Till about 200 years ago <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/india-china-rail-race">China and India</a> were the world’s largest economies, and that helped Kathmandu prosper as an entrepôt between the two. We have now come full circle. China and India are ascendant once more, and the two giant neighbours can be the locomotives to pull Nepal along if we play our cards right. That is the message in former Kantipur editor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/two-takes-on-the-nepal-india-nexus">Sudheer Sharma</a>’s omnibus edition of two books that explore the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/so-far-so-good/nepals-history-through-art">historical</a> and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-geopolitics-of-nepal-s-politics">geopolitical dimensions of Nepal</a>’s relations with China.&nbsp; The two Nepali language books, भिक्षु, व्यापार र बिद्रोह (Monks, Trade and Rebellion) and हिमालपारिको हुरी (Trans-Himalayan Hurricane) follow Sharma’s previous work प्रयोगशाला (Laboratory) which looked mainly at Nepal-India relations and was translated into English as The Nepal Nexus. The first book is predominantly about Kathmandu’s historical links with Lhasa, and by extension <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/beijing-30-zak6iu1w">Beijing</a>. Vajrayana Buddhism played a significant role in bringing the two sides of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lives-on-the-line-in-the-himalaya">the Himalaya</a> together, allowing social and trade relations to thrive.&nbsp; Princess Bhrikuti, King Narendra Dev and Arniko were prominent historical figures, but thousands of lesser known <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/monks-and-nuns-help-in-rescue-and-relief,2320">monks</a>, traders, and travellers also played their part in cementing Kathmandu-Lhasa ties. These connections were so strong that they endured three wars that the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/beginning-of-the-end-of-the-gorkha-empire">Gorkha Kingdom</a> and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/gift-a-goat-to-tibet-nomads-in-nepal">Tibet</a> fought against each other in which <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/neither-side-lost-both-sides-won">Chinese emperors</a> sent military help to fight off the Nepalis. Although<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-assam-connection-revived"> Nepal’s historic connections</a> with Tibet waned after the Chinese annexation of the plateau in the 1950s, it is on that foundation that present day <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-china-agreements-are-stuck">Nepal-China relations</a> are built.&nbsp; Till today, Nepal is the only country with a consulate in Lhasa, and the only <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/kathmandu-airport-to-cut-flight-hours">international flights</a> from Lhasa are to Kathmandu. But as Sharma notes, even back then, Nepal’s proximity with northern India figured importantly in its<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/home-is-where-the-heart-is-yqkvf5vx"> socio-economic </a>and cultural connections with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/there-are-muslims-in-tibet-too">Tibet</a>. Nepal was the corridor for the exchange of trade and faith between the Ganga plains and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/it-is-getting-hotter-on-the-roof-of-the-world">the Tibetan plateau</a>. The road between Patna and Potala, Banaras and Beijing passed through <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/bringing-silicon-valley-to-kathmandu-valley">Kathmandu Valley</a>. Sharma traces this socio-political landscape to explain how it went on to shape the country’s modern day relations with the neighbours.&nbsp; There were 2,000 Buddhist monks in Nepal during the reign of Lichhavi king Amshuverma, and Arniko established himself in the court of Kubulai Khan and took eight years to build the massive White Dagoba in Beijing. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-life-and-times-of-arniko">The life and times of Arniko</a>, Sewa Bhattarai While Mahayana Buddhism spread from India, through Nepal to China and beyond, it was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/crony-communism">Communism</a> that later came from China to Nepal. King Mahendra had great geopolitical savvy and navigated the complicated geopolitics of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/land-reform-in-cold-war-nepal">Cold War</a> to cultivate relations with both Nehru and Mao, while keeping both at arms length. Mahendra wrested aid to build infrastructure like the Kodari and Prithvi Highways from China, but also from India, the Soviet Union and the United States. In fact Nepal was only the eighth non-Communist country to receive foreign aid during Mao’s China.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-new-equaliser">The new equaliser</a> But when <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/14-years-after-conflict-no-closure-in-nepal">Nepal’s Maoists</a> launched an armed struggle against <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-could-still-be-a-monarchy">the monarchy</a>, China’s official media never called them ‘Maoists’. As far as Beijing was concerned, Mao was dead in his mausoleum. It was only later under <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-is-xi-jinping-s-big-surprise">Xi Jinping </a>that China warmed up to Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s ‘Maoist’ label.&nbsp; The first book takes us to the point when the Constituent Assembly <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/from-nepali-press/Ftnp-abolishing,624">abolished Nepal’s monarchy</a> in 2008, and the second book, as the name suggests, looks at how the whirlwind rise of China has buffeted Nepal.&nbsp; Sharma encourages readers to abandon <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/guest-editorial/Prithvi-Narayan-Shah-a-visionary-leader,1102">Prithvi Narayan Shah</a>’s famous metaphor of Nepal being ‘yam between two boulders’ to it being more like a ‘narrow canyon’ between two big <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/why-we-climb-mountains">mountains</a>, emphasising the challenges of maintaining sovereignty amid geopolitical pressures not just between India and China, but increasingly, with the United States. We have to see how the new Sino-US Cold War will evolve under <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/trump-s-second-coming">the second Donald Trump presidency</a>. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-great-game-2nd-half">suspension of the MCC</a> this week will be an opening for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/crony-communism">China to push its own BRI infrastructure projects</a> in Nepal. It is not very helpful to see Nepal as being ‘squeezed’ between its giant neighbours, but leverage the country’s geostrategic location by being a connector between India and China. Both neighbours, naturally, have their own interests in Nepal as a buffer state, but both want stability. Kathmandu’s strategy should be to take advantage of the economic growth of its neighbours. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/poor-cash-rich-nepal">Poor cash-rich Nepal</a>, Sonia Awale &nbsp; Both books look at the arrival of Tibetan refugees into Nepal from the late 1950s, and how this resulted in geopolitical push and pull. Although American support for Khampa guerrillas was cut off after Henry Kissinger’s secret visit to Beijing in 1971, US and western support for Tibetans in exile resumed after that.&nbsp; Nepal allowed the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mindfulness-about-bhutan-s-refugees"> refugees</a> to stay and work here, but under Chinese pressure Kathmandu adopted stricter measures — including <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=2754">deporting Tibetans entering Nepal</a>. The Tibetan exile community remains one of Beijing’s biggest concerns in Nepal. Successive Kathmandu governments have been pressured to curb ‘anti-Chinese activities’ like celebrating the Dalai Lama’s birthday and other anniversaries.&nbsp; Sharma notes that so far Nepal has deftly balanced its support for refugees while keeping relations with Beijing on an even keel. It is significant that China has been surprisingly understanding of the presence of<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-start-of-the-anglo-gorkha-war"> Gorkha soldiers from Nepal</a> in the Indian Army along the disputed border where India and China fought a war in 1962, and after which there have been frequent skirmishes.&nbsp; The two books should be read chronologically so as to track the trajectory of historical Nepal-Tibet ties right up to present-day Nepal-China relations. The most relevant concern for bilateral relations today, as Sharma points out, is <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/how-nepal-can-avert-an-economic-crunch">Nepal’s economic independence</a>, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15973">sovereignty</a>, and role in a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-column/nepal-in-the-new-world-order">transformed world order</a>. &nbsp;&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250224140256_38f09c2f6dc3b7c79892cf556976fa9f7b3a2f43fb53bd7a248a6c6af3ba4715.jpg" data-media-id="editor_37" data-image-id="20250224140256_38f09c2f6dc3b7c79892cf556976fa9f7b3a2f43fb53bd7a248a6c6af3ba4715" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Sudheer Sharma 1"> </figure>  &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250224140256_c6eb78b8f59cfda4b3dae582212306fd3ea25b1973d554fdb7579b9d8f345969.jpg" data-media-id="editor_38" data-image-id="20250224140256_c6eb78b8f59cfda4b3dae582212306fd3ea25b1973d554fdb7579b9d8f345969" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Sudheer Sharma 2"> </figure>  &nbsp;

A past foretold

The post World War II <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/west-is-west">decade of the 1950s</a> saw the dismantling of colonial systems, establishment of a new world order with the United States replacing Britain. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/peacemongers-at-india-pakistan-border">India and Pakistan</a> had just gained independence and were still traumatised by partition.&nbsp; In China, Mao Zedong came to power after 20 years of revolution, and promptly annexed Tibet. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/a-new-cold-war-in-the-himalaya">Cold War</a> between the US and the Sino-Soviet alliance led to proxy wars in Korea and Vietnam. In Nepal itself, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/inside-story-of-nepal-s-rana-dynasty">the Ranas</a> were replaced by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/history-on-canvas">the Shahs</a> in 1951, and ten years later <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/last-days-with-bp-koirala">BP Koirala</a> became the first democratically elected prime minister — soon deposed in a coup by King Mahendra. Nepal opened up to the world and tried to keep a delicate balance between global and regional powers. The book, Nepal in the Long 1950s, explores politics, economics and the socio-culture milieu in the decade following the end of the Rana rule. Edited by researchers Pratyoush Onta, Lokranjan Parajuli and anthropologist Mark Liechty, the book is a collection of 10 essays, the first six of which place <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-geopolitics-of-nepal-s-politics">Nepal in the larger geopolitical context</a>, while the last four explore the role of foreign specialists and institutions in reshaping Nepal. Prawash Gautam examines how the last years of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/the-rana-reign-a-recap-of-history,3751">Rana rule</a> were marked by looser controls, enabling the emergence of the public sphere. One tea shop near Dharara became a space for socialisation, discourse, as well as political organisation.&nbsp; However, while this teashop was unique in that it allowed customers from ‘lower’ caste communities, Gautam says <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-caste-struggle">caste-based discrimination</a> and limited access to women still prevented public spaces from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/everybody-counts-in-nepal">being inclusive</a>. Bandana Gyawali writes about how the Nepali notion of unnati (progress), was replaced by the concept bikas (development), a ‘more democratic’ term championed by the American aid programs that associated development with material gain which at the time meant little to Nepalis.&nbsp; Peter Gill’s chapter discusses efforts to legislate and implement socio-economic reform, including birta abolition, tenancy rights, and land distribution. However, he writes, these reforms were ultimately a populist tool used by new leaders for political gain. Sharad Ghimire delves into the state’s disaster response in the aftermath of<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/60-years-after-1954-devastating-flood-same-failings-of-government-today-post-quake,2433"> the deadly 1954 floods</a>. Political incompetence and attempts to politicise the crisis led to the failure of relief led by Prime Minister M P Koirala, ultimately deepening rifts between himself and leaders of the ruling coalition — giving King Mahendra the chance to assert himself.&nbsp; Meanwhile, the US answered Nepal’s call for help in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/disastrous-management-in-nepal">disaster management</a> to curb possible Communist influence in Nepal, much to India’s annoyance. Pratyoush Onta examines how <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kingdom-lost-republic-gained">post-Rana politics</a> encouraged Nepalis to realise their intellectual freedom and pursue knowledge creation and distribution. The formation of the short-lived Nepal Sanskritik Foundation, set up by political leaders, scholars, and intellectuals like Bal Chandra Sharma and Isvar Baral who had witnessed and participated in India’s anti-colonial movements, facilitated social research and knowledge enterprise. Two chapters discuss the development of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/lessons-not-learnt-homework-not-done">Nepal’s education sector</a>. Lokranjan Parajuli looks into how domestic and foreign actors impacted the founding of Tribhuvan University, documenting the role of queen consorts Janti Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah and Queen Ishwari Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah, even as Mahendra remained wary lest it produce intellectuals who would undermine his authority. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/america-nepal-and-the-royal-coup">America, Nepal and the Royal Coup</a>, Tom Robertson India and the US were vying to help TU, writes Parajuli, but China and USSR arrived to also support higher education sector with less strings attached. This led to US and India joining forces, and the US eventually let India take the lead. Susan Heydon’s research into <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/is-free-health-care-possible-in-nepal">Nepal’s healthcare</a> sector reveals that development in biomedicine was in large part due to assistance from Christian missionaries, despite Nepalis’ wariness towards them, visiting foreign <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/grass-is-greener-overseas-for-nepals-doctors">healthcare experts</a>, as well as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/e75-million-eu-aid-to-nepal-for-covid-19-ckmyfbkq">international aid</a>.&nbsp; As <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/how-usaid-cut-affects-nepal">USAID fund cuts impact Nepal</a>, Jeremy Rappleye’s chapter on the US development assistance and Nepal’s modern education system is relevant read. He recalls how American educator Hugh Wood’s aid-centered blueprint for educational development in the 1950s was incongruous with what Nepali officials wanted. Wood’s model laid the groundwork for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/teaching-nepali-teachers-to-teach-better?fbclid=IwY2xjawIfg2JleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHRlYZ7S9dci12M2TMdHcirodLAD3e5OHzlfKW0z07B4plWF8Ofxo88JPfQ_aem_Ka7WIxuhTW0ghPf2qD-Yzg">Nepal’s modern education</a>, writes Rappleye, although it was not entirely appropriate. Former USEF Nepal director Thomas Robertson takes on the US ‘Four Point Program’ aimed at making Nepal reliant on American support. With the region in the grip of the Cold War, the US sought to expand its sphere of influence in Asia, in particular to stop India from going the way of China. Nepal therefore became strategically important to America’s aspirations for the region, writes Robertson. This meant Washington poured aid and into Nepal, including anti-malaria programs and land reform initiatives — in stark contrast to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-great-game-2nd-half">Donald Trump’s current pullout of USAID, MCC and other programs</a>. Mark Liechty ends the book with his exploration of the life and times of Boris Lisanevich and his Hotel Royal which ushered Nepal into the age of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/missing-out-on-nepal-s-tourism-potential">tourism</a>. But Boris was not particularly well versed in the art of hospitality, and while Nepalis in this burgeoning sector realised the opportunities and went about realising those potentials Lisanevich continued to dwell in his anachronistic <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-britain-mark-centenary-of-1923-treaty">colonial fantasy</a> of Nepal, not doing himself any favours.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250220080248_ac072d9d13e541b5d8616f34edb4aae86a8859c6fe44682932408722fa9bff37.jpg" data-media-id="editor_23" data-image-id="20250220080248_ac072d9d13e541b5d8616f34edb4aae86a8859c6fe44682932408722fa9bff37" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal in the long 1950s"> </figure>

Nepal in the world, the world in Nepal

The <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/wg-arbitrary-detention/opinions-adopted-working-group-arbitrary-detention/opinions-adopted-working-group-arbitrary-detention-its-101st-session" target="_blank">United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention</a> in a report published this month has found the Bhutanese government to have detained its citizens without parole for expressing their political opinions, in direct contrast to its multiparty democratic system and its claim of being an enlightened land that promotes “gross national happiness”.&nbsp;
Human Rights Watch and the Global Campaign for the Release of Political Prisoners in Bhutan (GCRPPB) identified at least 37 <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/03/13/bhutan-free-long-term-political-prisoners" target="_blank">political prisoners</a> in the country in 2023. The vast majority of this group – 32 prisoners – belong to Bhutan’s Nepali-speaking Lhotshampa community, which has faced <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2003/06/18/nepal-bhutanese-refugees-rendered-stateless" target="_blank">decades of discrimination and abuse</a> from the Bhutanese government. Most of them were convicted because of prohibited political activity between 1990 and 2008.
Five of the 37 prisoners were released upon completion of lengthy sentences, but were found to have imprisoned in dire conditions, facing long-term physical and psychosocial wounds.&nbsp;
A report by the UN Working Group highlighted a catalogue of violations of fundamental rights upon examination of the cases of three out of the 32 remaining <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/political-prisoners-languish-in-bhutan-s-jails">political prisoners</a>.&nbsp;
Birkha Bahadur Chhetri, Kumar Gautam, and Sunman Gurung &nbsp;became refugees at a young age after the government expelled 90,000 Nepali-speaking Bhutanese in 1990. When the three men returned to Bhutan in 2008, they were arrested for distributing political pamphlets and sentenced to life without parole under Bhutan’s 1992 National Security Act.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/prisoners-of-conscience-languish-in-bhutan-jails">Prisoners of conscience languish in Bhutan jails</a>
The Act deems anyone who conspires, solicits, or commits offenses against Tsa-Wa-Sum—which refers to the King, the people, or the country— a political prisoner.
The UN Working Group found the three men’s detention to be arbitrary in four different ways, all of which make their imprisonment illegal under international human rights law. The circumstances of their arrest and incommunicado detention were found to be outside the protection of the law and in two cases amounted to enforced disappearance.&nbsp;
As it relates to the distribution of phamplets, the three individuals were simply exercising their rights to freedom of thought and opinion under the <a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.gqh-2BaxUzlo7XKIuSly0rC6qW-2FnvSGJskOuXf1mmv7fb-2BiYM7QGwU6H-2Bf6KIGuxAW8-2BkBKAx7BEev71tQe8HgenEdlZgM1cj0gDMDAHtXRtI-3Dl5XL_FSNxcQr-2BB-2FhcOdIidi6wdSUEqxUucKsRY8L7gcmE0dj99C71Z1DrszIvW2IyfMsa6FzM5M1J2gY2prfUknme7t6-2FejYw5H9zGkpZDOqKdUpcPR75fvavpCESm81yhl2cTPMp8VoiXwHrUH2gtzEGvT2s9j6RwrigCP2v8jWoptGwkE5huuOssPClxOMnuxN9-2FnwnWoWOsOYX0Oz9hMw2WmzuhLnKJ4p9YTCH5Jq67eztiDA7zAEFfWOg9zAhaPsh02wXkL-2BQgCCcDM1ir5Aw6VHhLw3e-2FRyIdVLb7BqKGZwPTTewI66CHyO7A7QpeOL-2FYtebxH602F1I4IyQaijxSw-3D-3D" target="_blank">Universal Declaration of Human Rights</a>, the Working group stated.
Breaches of the prisoners’ right to a fair trial were also traced by the group, which found that the prisoners were “deprived of their liberty on discriminatory grounds, because of their political opinion and status as members of a linguistic minority.” The body also expressed grave concern at the prisoners being denied visitors.&nbsp;
The cases of Chhetri, Gautam, and Gurung echo other cases of unjust imprisonment which Human Rights Watch and GCRPPB have been documenting consistently. As it stands, the remaining detainees live under brutal conditions, wherein they do not have access to adequate food, clothing, or medical assistance.
The government of Bhutan did not respond to the UN Working Group’s communications.&nbsp;
A former inmate, Ram Bahadur Rai, had previously spoken to the Human Rights Watch explaining conditions of reduced food rations, poor quality of clothing, minimum medical assistance and lack of welfare checks. Rai said that sometimes the clothing they were provided would be so small that the prisoners had to make do with rice sacks, not just for clothing but also bedding.
While many of these prisoners continue to serve life sentences without parole in dire conditions, Bhutanese authorities completely deny their existence. Rai further added that many of them are in very poor health as they are obligated to seek medication on their own and sometimes need to wait for months just to see a doctor.
<a href="https://www.hrw.org/about/people/meenakshi-ganguly" target="_blank">Meenakshi Ganguly</a>, Deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, has urged Bhutan’s international partners to call on the Bhutanese government to release all remaining political prisoners immediately.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/no-country-for-dissent">No country for dissent</a>

Detainees in dire straits in Bhutan’s prisons

If visitors to the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/its-a-jungle-out-there">Bardia National Park </a>are lucky, they can sometimes spot a bevy of otters frolicking with their pups along <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-karnali">the Karnali River.</a> Or they might be out fishing, brown fur gleaming in the sun as they emerge from the water with a fish in the mouth. But on a recent daytime visit to the national park in Kailali, there was no such luck. All that pointed to their presence were tracks on the sand by the banks of the Karnali (pictured, below).&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250314030320_9c5ba49b740896453946aedc632f1cb8df8e886cda7107996f5a40893d99f016.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250314030320_9c5ba49b740896453946aedc632f1cb8df8e886cda7107996f5a40893d99f016" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Otters footprint "> <figcaption>Photo: SUDIKSHA TULADHAR</figcaption> </figure>  When it comes to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/human-animal-interface-in-nepal-wildlife-corridor">wildlife</a>, the news cycle in Nepal is dominated by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/in-conservation-nepal-is-not-out-of-the-woods-yet">tigers and rhinos</a>, and their <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/is-wildlife-conservation-a-victim-of-its-own-success-in-nepal">conservation success stories</a>. This means other <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/lesser-known-endangered-species">endangered mammals </a>like pangolins and otters remain in the shadows.&nbsp; Many Nepalis are not even aware that otters exist in Nepal. There are three species found here: the Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra), Smooth-coated Otter (Lutrogale perspicillata), and Asian Small-clawed Otter (Aonyx cinereus). All are usually nocturnal, or most active at dawn or dusk to avoid predators like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/crocodile-chronicle">crocodiles</a>, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/does-nepal-really-have-too-many-tigers">tigers</a>, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/clouded-future-for-the-clouded-leopard">leopards</a>. Otter species found in Nepal prefer freshwater <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/importance-of-ecosystems-for-people-and-the-planet">ecosystems </a>along fast flowing <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-what-is-left-of-himalayan-rivers">Himalayan rivers</a> and the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18976">wetlands</a> that they feed. The Asian Small-clawed Otter feeds on crabs and mollusks, the Smooth-coated otter, primarily found in rivers of Karnali and Narayani, preys on fish, playing a crucial role in maintaining balance in the aquatic ecosystem.&nbsp; Their dependence on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/solution-to-kathmandu-s-water-crisis">clean water</a> makes otters bioindicators, which means their abundance shows a healthy ecosystem and unpolluted water bodies.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/people-tigers-trees-and-rivers">People, tigers, trees and rivers</a>, Shashank Poudel “Otters hunt in the water, but they spend most of their time on land, often along the boulders and sand on the banks,” explains Arun Sonaha, otter conservation expert from the indigenous Sonaha community. Otter scat contributes to nutrient cycling as well as the fertilisation of riverbanks and wetlands, indirectly promoting vegetation. Smooth-coated Otters and Asian small-clawed Otters prefer lowland habitats. The former have adapted to survive in human-altered landscapes, and have been found to reside in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/pouring-concrete-on-rice-fields">rice fields</a> and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/infrastructure-for-wildlife-in-nepal">irrigation canals</a>.&nbsp; However, Eurasian Otters adapt to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-must-prepare-for-climate-migration">seasonal changes</a> by moving up to 3,660m during the summer, and migrating to lower elevations in the winter. The presence of Eurasian Otters has been recorded in 24 districts across Nepal, while the Smooth-coated and Asian Small-clawed species have been documented in 12 districts. Otters have been spotted in the Karnali, Narayani, Kosi, and Mahakali <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/india-nepal-ignore-climate-crisis-in-river-talks">river systems</a>. The smallest of the 13 known otter species, Asian Small-clawed otters, were recorded in Nepal for the first time in 185 years earlier this year in February in Dadeldhura.&nbsp; “We track the movement of Smooth-coated Otters using 18 camera traps in Bardia,” explains Aashish Kapali from the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/world-lost-2-3-of-its-animals-in-50-years-wwf-report">World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Nepal</a>. Smooth-coated otters have still been observed in healthy numbers along the Karnali, but the otter population is in decline. The smooth-coated otter and Asian small-clawed are currently listed as ‘vulnerable’ in the IUCN Red List, while the Eurasian Otter is ‘near endangered’.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250314030324_f20e9290f9e92401be7a5c8c53d080c80e8c0583fa991def89bb3081329255dd.png" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="20250314030324_f20e9290f9e92401be7a5c8c53d080c80e8c0583fa991def89bb3081329255dd" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1521" loading="lazy" alt="Otters 2"> <figcaption>PHOTO: SAGAR GIRI/ WWF NEPAL</figcaption> </figure>  <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/rivers-be-dammed">River damming</a>, indiscriminate and illegal fishing, changing rainfall patterns and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/decarbonisation-needs-to-begin-today">extreme weather</a>, rapid urbanisation in Nepal’s lowlands have contributed to loss of otter habitats and depletion of food sources. Pollution from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/20-years-ago-this-week/clearing-the-air-ha86ztz4">raw sewage and industrial waste </a>has also added to<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/between-existence-and-extinction-in-nepal"> habitat degradation</a> while <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/banned-pesticides-are-widely-used-in-nepal">pesticides </a>have directly impacted their prey population. “The pesticides sprayed on fields drain into the rivers, affecting the fish population,” says Kapali. “This reverberates across the food chain and affects otter numbers.”&nbsp; Until a few years ago, otter poaching also ran rampant. Between 1989 and 2017, 755 otter pelts were confiscated in Nepal but <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18566">communities living along the Karnali </a>have since stepped up efforts to protect the mammals. “Our continuous conservation efforts have meant that we currently do not have issues with poaching,” says Sonaha. Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/protecting-pangolins-from-being-eaten-to-extinction"> Protecting pangolins from being eaten to extinction</a>, Sonia Awale Community members are also working to revive the indigenous knowledge about over-fishing, and they also get skills training for alternative livelihoods.&nbsp; “The training not only enables us to earn a living but also helps us conserve otters,” says Buddhi Singh Tharu, chair of Himal Samuha community group for otter conservation. Fishing in the river is still allowed, but it must be done in a way that ensures smaller fish and tadpoles, the primary prey for otters, are not caught. “We use fishing nets that allow smaller fish to escape so that numbers in the river are balanced and under control,” explains Tharu. Across <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/nepal-villages-cope-with-climate-induced-floods">Kailali and Bardia</a>, 15 Community River Stretch Management Groups have been established to conserve Smooth-coated otters. Women have been significantly more active in otter <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/women-conserve-men-still-conservative">conservation efforts</a>, with a 68% participation rate. Sudha Chaudhary, 45, was once a fisher, but now has transitioned to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-superfoods-of-the-andes-and-the-himalaya">chili and tomato farming</a> with support from WWF Nepal and believes that conserving otters is essential for maintaining and sustaining the Karnali ecosystem. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/conversation-with-mr-conservation">Conversation with Mr Conservation</a>, Sonia Awale Meanwhile, despite constant monitoring, sand mining and inadequate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/managing-everest-s-waste-problem">waste management</a> continue in the Karnali, including by local officials, destroying otter habitats. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/conservation-at-the-crossroads">Community conservation groups</a> here have expressed concerns about municipal authorities dumping waste near <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-karnali">the Karnali River</a>. However, experts also point to a lack of policies when it comes to otter conservation. While the Aquatic Animal Protection Act of 1961 and the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1973 exist, they are inadequate for the conservation of these vulnerable semi-aquatic animals. Talks are underway for the government to approve a new action plan for otter conservation. For now, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/remembering-nepal-s-conservation-heroes">conservationists</a> emphasise the need for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/wildlife-people-coexistence-in-nepal-national-park">human-wildlife coexistence</a> to foster sustainable ecosystems that protect <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-great-trans-himalayan-bird-migration">Nepal’s biodiversity</a>, to achieve which continued <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/villagers-step-up-to-protect-nepal-s-tigers">community conservation</a>, education and awareness efforts are crucial. Says Tharu: “It is our responsibility to conserve otters to ensure their survival for generations to come.”

Saving the Karnali otters

If and when there is a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine, the <a href="https://www.army.mod.uk/learn-and-explore/about-the-army/corps-regiments-and-units/brigade-of-gurkhas/">British Army’s Gurkha soldiers</a> deployed there could be in a theatre of war in which fellow Nepalis have been fighting for <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2023/06/why-nepalis-are-fighting-on-both-sides-of-the-russia-ukraine-war/">both sides</a>. Three years into the conflict, there are at least <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/recruiters-of-nepalis-into-russian-army-identified">1,000 Nepali mercenaries in the Russian Army</a> and a few on the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/is-the-time-ripe-for-an-end-to-the-ukraine-war">Ukrainian side</a>. About <a href="https://www.nzz.ch/english/the-russians-treat-us-like-dogs-yet-thousands-of-nepalese-soldiers-are-fighting-for-russia-in-ukraine-ld.1821866">70 of them have been killed</a>, 180 injured are being treated in hospitals in Russia, dozens have deserted, and there are <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/6-nepali-kia-and-4-pows-in-ukraine">four prisoners of war</a> captured by the Ukrainians.&nbsp; Reports in the <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2024497/army-new-regiment-Gurkha-artillery">British press</a> last week quoted Defence Secretary John Healy announcing the formation of a 500-strong <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/diary-of-a-nepali-soldier-in-france">Gurkha Artillery regiment </a>to be sent to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal. European defence ministers met last week in Paris to decide on a ‘force generation’ as part of a 20-nation ‘security and stabilisation’ operation in Ukraine.&nbsp; There are currently just over 4,127 <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/gadfly-opinion/the-time-has-come-for-a-gurkha-peace-corps">Nepali nationals in the British Army</a>, most of them in the infantry. <a href="https://www.eurasiantimes.com/n-new-roles-for-british-gurkha-soldier/">Media reports</a> said the new artillery unit would be deployed in surveillance and reconnaissance roles attached to anti-aircraft missile systems.&nbsp; Back in January, The Telegraph even floated the idea of establishing a Ukrainian equivalent of the <a href="https://www.army.mod.uk/learn-and-explore/about-the-army/corps-regiments-and-units/brigade-of-gurkhas/" target="_blank">Brigade of Gurkhas</a>, a permanent, volunteer unit of Ukrainian nationals as part of the British Army as a symbol of the European military alliance.&nbsp; Meanwhile, fighting has intensified even as US-brokered peace talks take place in Saudi Arabia. Russia and Ukraine have been hitting cities deep into each other’s territories with missiles and long-range drones. And Russia seems to be gaining ground to retake the Kursk region.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/what-does-defending-europe-mean">What does ‘Defending Europe’ mean</a>? Casualties on both sides are high, and both sides are running out of manpower. Ukraine is feeling the shortage of recruits more acutely, while the Russian Army has been getting conscripts from the hinterland as well as mercenaries from Ethiopia, India and Nepal.&nbsp; Tilak Budathoki from Rolpa paid a Nepali intermediary from Dang <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/recruiters-of-nepalis-into-russian-army-identified">recruiting for the Russian Army </a>Rs 1million to get him a military job. He was promised Rs300,000 a month salary for a ‘support job’ in the army, and Russian citizenship.&nbsp; Budathoki had served three years in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepalis-dying-in-someone-elses-war">the Nepal Army</a>, but he resigned after<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/14-years-after-conflict-no-closure-in-nepal"> the Maoists</a> threatened his family. With his military experience, he felt he could handle a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/recruitment-of-nepalis-into-indian-army-paused">military job</a>. He was flown to Moscow via New Delhi despite a Nepal government ban on mercenaries joining the Russian Army. After a few weeks training, he was sent off to the front, although the agent had said the Nepalis would be in kitchen duty or be back-up while Russian soldiers did the fighting. But the reality was different. He was sent off to the Donestsk front where the fighting was fierce. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepali-captured-in-ukraine">The soldiers </a>were constantly hungry and cold in the icy trenches. While the Nepalis foraged for food in nearby bunkers, they would be subject to relentless Ukrainian drone attacks.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/ukraines-lessons-for-sandwiched-nations-like-nepal">Ukraine's lessons for sandwiched nations like Nepal</a>, Bhaskar Koirala  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250316090316_2f8b1e105ca898ccbfe5d8ca7ebcee115384f8efe563a5f2d8ad8b61d6baf86e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_18" data-image-id="20250316090316_2f8b1e105ca898ccbfe5d8ca7ebcee115384f8efe563a5f2d8ad8b61d6baf86e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="800" loading="lazy" alt="Tilak Budhathoki Russian Army NT"> <figcaption>Budathoki during his term as ward chair of Sunchahari Municpality-5 of Rolpa.</figcaption> </figure>  “This is nothing like I imagined, I have nothing left to lose,” Budathoki told us during a 1-hour conversation over Facebook Messenger in January. “I do not think I am getting out of this alive.” Budathoki in the trenches on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/facebook-nation">Facebook</a> messenger in January one hour conversation was despondent and didn’t think he would make it back alive because of relentless Ukrainian drone attacks, &nbsp;black smoke billowing out of the snow-covered forests. Budathoki had heard of Nepalis who had deserted and made it back to Nepal after paying the same recruiters who had brought them to Russia and after the Nepal Embassy issued them temporary <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/life-time/having-a-nepali-passport-is-no-fun">travel documents</a>. They charged $3,000. But several attempts to flee were unsuccessful. Among those who managed to escape is Krishna Kumar Shahi from Dailekh who was wounded, and is now in TU Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu. He remembers: “There are corpses strewn all over like goats, and on the other side is Ukraine.” Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/10-nepalis-from-one-town-fighting-in-ukraine"> 10 Nepalis from one town fighting in Ukraine</a>, Sujata Dhungana After reports of desertions, Russian military intelligence had increased surveillance and had a list of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/531-nepalis-in-russian-army">Nepalis in the Russian Army</a>. Those caught were immediately sent back to the front, and deployed in the places where the fighting was fiercest. Some were tortured when they returned to their units. “I am just waiting to die,” said Budhathoki, saying he missed his 12-year-old son and 6-year-old- daughter. “I came here so I could afford to send them to good schools back in Nepal. Everyone here wants to return to Nepal, they say they do not want any money just safety.” &nbsp; For Budathoki, it was hard to take the death of Sajan Gurung, who had been recruited with him in Nepal and both had travelled together to Moscow. He was killed in action along with three other Nepalis in a Ukrainian drone attack on a trench barely 400m away.&nbsp; On 25 February, Budathoki told his friends and family that he had been sent off again to the frontlines. A few days later, he was killed in action. Tilak Budathoki’s death was announced on 11 March in Parliament in Kathmandu by Rolpa’s MP Iswari Gharti of the UML party. Budathoki had been elected ward chair of Sunchahari Municpality-5 of Rolpa. He lost the next election to a Maoist candidate, and was desperate for a job to pay off the loans he took for his campaign. Since it was impossible to bring the body home, the families performed a ritual funeral in Nepal. MP Gharti told Parliament: “I request the prime minister to stop <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/graves-of-nepali-soldiers-in-russia">recruitment of Nepalis in the Russian Army</a>.”&nbsp; Many of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepalis-in-the-russian-army-want-to-quit">the Nepalis in the Russian Army</a> have never been paid, or not paid what they had been promised. Except for two of the dead, none have got compensation and their families in Nepal are deep in debt and cannot service loans they took to pay the recruiters. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepalis-play-russian-roulette-in-distant-war?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1z3aL7Os-pbK8b03IPm8LXZizKesORwMh_CtPa2wkQmboTUZySdvUK-MI_aem_PE4E_mtHms1ysj09K3RBwQ">Nepalis play Russian roulette in distant war</a>, Shankar Dahal

More Nepalis in Russian Army killed in action

The lush forest of Godavari-Phulchoki along the southern rim of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/bringing-silicon-valley-to-kathmandu-valley">Kathmandu Valley</a> has double the annual <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/when-it-rains-it-pours-ksqprbu3">rainfall</a> compared to the city, and is known for the great diversity of plants, birds, butterflies and other insects. Soaring steeply from Godavari at 1,500m, Phulchoki Peak at 2,750m is the highest point on the Valley rim. The altitude range is also what gives this temperate broadleaf forest such <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/a-karnali-portrait?nSVg6Zb1%27))%20OR%20314=(SELECT%20314%20FROM%20PG_SLEEP(15))--%3D">rich biodiversity</a> with an interlocking <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/people-tigers-trees-and-rivers">mosaic of habitats</a>, allowing a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/conserving-mountains-for-people-and-nature-6761w34s">diverse range of species</a> to thrive – especially orchids.&nbsp; There is a breathtaking array of orchids, some common, many rare, and others so elusive they have only just been discovered and classified. Even the name Phulchoki means ‘Hill of Flowers’. The orchid plant has long captivated houseplant owners and botanists alike due to its natural beauty and unique form. But it also serves a vital function in maintaining the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-must-save-nijgad-forest-to-receive-climate-funds">forest’s ecosystem</a>.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025031513030_b54386422e9f9a3e99d0ccab767a8c3f747e08bd7d7602343fa30717f58e01c6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="2025031513030_b54386422e9f9a3e99d0ccab767a8c3f747e08bd7d7602343fa30717f58e01c6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1418" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Orchid 7"> <figcaption>Dendrobium bicameratum</figcaption> </figure>  The small paradise of Godavari-Phulchoki harbours <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/new-turmeric-species-in-nepal">plant species</a> that face mounting threats despite the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/unsung-heroes-of-nepal-s-tiger-recovery">conservation successes</a> in the watershed. The hill is home to the highest diversity-to-area ratio for orchid species, making it a hotspot because of the threats from increased <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/missing-out-on-nepal-s-tourism-potential">tourism</a>, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/what-drives-wildlife-poaching">poaching</a>, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/climate-breakdown-linked-to-thame-flood">climate breakdown</a> and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/not-out-of-the-woods-yet-in-nepal">habitat disturbance</a>.&nbsp; The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has been running the Living Mountain Lab in Godavari as a demonstration site for biodiversity conservation and appropriate technology. The Lab alone has recorded 54 orchid species, and the Godavari-Phulchoki landscape has over 80 species. &nbsp; Uniquely, the orchid’s survival depends even more on very specific ecological conditions, requiring the right balance of moisture, humidity and host plants to flourish – conditions that the Godavari-Phulchoki landscape is ideal for. Orchids mostly grow with support from other plants or on rocks, and are called epiphytes. Orchids have a sophisticated flower that is androgynous with a modified petal, and produces seeds that germinate symbiotically with fungi.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/between-existence-and-extinction-in-nepal">Between existence and extinction in Nepal</a>, Sonia Awale&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025031513038_0415681c7e4e0e7932388d65d2488d4a444e1588bd29a30a90846dc8ece5a242.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="2025031513038_0415681c7e4e0e7932388d65d2488d4a444e1588bd29a30a90846dc8ece5a242" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Habenaria"> <figcaption>Habenaria intermedia</figcaption> </figure>  This means the flowers need their own insect pollinators that are attracted by specialised scents and designs of the labellum that serve as landing pads for insects. In this <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/eastern-nepal-s-mundum-landscape">ecologically diverse landscape</a>, the orchids stand as a testament to the health of the region’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/economic-benefits-of-saving-the-ecology">ecosystem</a>. Healthy orchids indicate a happy <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/who-now-owns-nepals-forests">forest</a>.&nbsp; Hiking through the Phulchoki forest, visitors can easily spot many of the 80 <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/first-of-its-kind-raspberry-in-nepal">indigenous species i</a>n their natural habitat. Others are more difficult to see.&nbsp; One of the most common orchids on Phulchoki is the Coelogyne nitida that has white petals and a sun-gold centre.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025031513034_7c067b74cb8340c119792a81a198381f127782ce8a78e2de99fc9821d0e43c00.jpg" data-media-id="editor_19" data-image-id="2025031513034_7c067b74cb8340c119792a81a198381f127782ce8a78e2de99fc9821d0e43c00" data-rendition-name="original" width="1394" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Nitida"> <figcaption>Coelogyne nitida</figcaption> </figure>  The orchid has prominent green pseudobulbs that store water and has abundant seed production, which is what makes it one of the more common species. &nbsp;&nbsp; Abu Hang Samuel is a botany student who has independently documented orchids for the past eight years. Last year, while looking into the dark undergrowth on Phulchoki, he discovered the Lecanorchis japonica, a rare species previously found only in China, Japan, and Korea (pictured, below).&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250315120352_5e6584b2e7cf41fecb5858ff93d98914eba1eb781768fb0a951ee7e896625bc8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="20250315120352_5e6584b2e7cf41fecb5858ff93d98914eba1eb781768fb0a951ee7e896625bc8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Orchid 2 "> <figcaption> Lecanorchis japonica</figcaption> </figure>  “This rare orchid does not have leaves and mostly stays underground, living off fungi in the soil, which is why it is difficult to find,” Samuel explains. “When the season is right, slender flowers emerge from the forest floor for a few days before disappearing again. I was lucky to be at the right palce at the right time.”&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/biodynamic-agripreneurs">Biodynamic agripreneurs</a>, Sanjib Chaudhary Orchids and other native plants in the Godavari-Phulchoki landscape face significant threats, including illegal collection and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/what-drives-wildlife-poaching">poaching</a>, despite laws prohibiting their extraction from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-nepal-s-last-wild-dogs">the wild</a>.&nbsp; However, the bigger challenge comes from<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/protecting-protected-areas-from-infrastructure?fbclid=IwAR1wK0MDFlFST_2EYb3f54LS4-fPt6rYfLG1DJ1JaQsU3w8-ezyXIxGOqzk"> urban expansion and infrastructure projects</a>, which lead to habitat destruction.&nbsp; “The Godavari bus park once had many trees covered in orchids,” Samuel notes, “but they were cleared to expand the parking area to accommodate growing numbers of picnickers.”&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250315120352_272e39bb7dbd1107f0f6e73384a938206901d29df0f1a27dad20d9fbdeb0e5a9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_25" data-image-id="20250315120352_272e39bb7dbd1107f0f6e73384a938206901d29df0f1a27dad20d9fbdeb0e5a9" data-rendition-name="original" width="1394" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Orchid 3 "> <figcaption>Phalaenopsis taenialis</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025031514030_bf32140eaf73bc72cdb5f0053c94776f7877b3e686e2c36ea2d9e4e36c1adabf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_26" data-image-id="2025031514030_bf32140eaf73bc72cdb5f0053c94776f7877b3e686e2c36ea2d9e4e36c1adabf" data-rendition-name="original" width="1404" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Orchid"> <figcaption>Rhynchostylis retusa</figcaption> </figure>  Similarly, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-building-a-highway-to-everest">road construction</a> and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Nepal-development-black-hole,3111">development projects</a> have led to the destruction of trees, boulders and slopes where orchids naturally grow, disrupting delicate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/republic-of-nepal-s-animal-kingdom">ecological networks</a>. &nbsp; Ecosystems function as intricate webs, with each species playing a role in maintaining balance. When habitat destruction disrupts this balance, this natural network of symbiotic relationships among plants and animals unravels.&nbsp; This sets off a domino effect with hazardous and sometimes unexpected consequences that ultimately threaten the survival of orchids and other interdependent species.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250315120356_5751088a8cdb03cdcf067192914ca70ad176fc34249304ef8906d8654192e627.jpg" data-media-id="editor_30" data-image-id="20250315120356_5751088a8cdb03cdcf067192914ca70ad176fc34249304ef8906d8654192e627" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Orchid 5"> <figcaption>Coelogyne cristata</figcaption> </figure>  Amidst rapid <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/cost-of-living-in-a-big-city">urban development</a>, the primary goal of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/remembering-nepal-s-conservation-heroes">conservation </a>is to protect plants, their habitats and the broader ecosystem they rely on.&nbsp; ICIMOD’s Living Mountain Lab, for instance, does a botanical tour called an ‘Orchid Walk’ to spread awareness about the strengths and struggles of this plant, all the while showing visitors the up-close<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-anatomy-of-a-flower"> beauty of the flowers</a>. “The goal is to enhance the visitors’ experience and raise awareness about the incredible orchid biodiversity of the Godavari-Phulchoki landscape,” says Yufang Su, who heads the Lab. “We hope to inspire a deeper appreciation for these delicate blooms and the need for their conservation.”&nbsp;

Orchids of Godavari-Phulchoki

Last month, Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel and Pokhara Mayor Dhanraj Acharya were burned when hydrogen-filled balloons exploded at the launch of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/pokhara-s-tourism-woes">Pokhara Visit Year 2025</a>. Both were flown to Kathmandu for treatment. In 2023, Nepali Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Chandra Bhandari was severely burned in a kitchen fire. He was taken to India for treatment. His Rs5.6 million medevac and treatment bill was paid by the government. It took the<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/burning-in-the-aftermath,3757"> burn injuries </a>of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-nepal-s-vip-prisoners-do-in-jail">high-profile figures </a>in Nepal to finally spark action on an issue that affects mainly the country’s poorest. “We call this the burns paradox,” says Kiran Nakarmi at the Nepal Cleft and Burn Centre at Kirtipur Hospital, where the Pokhara patients received care. “Treatment is costly and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19400">most victims are poor</a>."&nbsp; About 60,000 people suffer <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/removing-scars?fbclid=IwAR2MiX-ZhGNSsqUwgDYfvLWE3a7ZeLaHncz66MMKLQGtSSraTjr9cF5mIWo">burn injuries</a> in Nepal each year and 2,200 of them die. The demand for care in Kirtipur is growing.&nbsp; In 2014, it treated 90 <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/A-burning-desire-to-help,881">burn patients</a> and this more than doubled to 194 in 2015, reached 373 in 2016, and peaked at 790 in 2023. Last year the Centre treated 753 patients, and in January alone this year it was 111. Ninety-two percent of cases come from outside Kathmandu from 75 districts,” says Nakarmi. “When we started it was 42%.”&nbsp; Ideally, burns treatment should be decentralised so that local levels have primary <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/altruistic-healthcare-models-in-nepal">burn care centres</a> no more than two hours away, where patients can get initial treatment like cooling and dressing of wounds, and fluid replacement. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/removing-scars?fbclid=IwAR3YJaMAa7AekbmwWYy3UlNnJkDj8XZk8qRxcagXd7Sl0M4m4SzolGs_0ow">Removing Scars</a>, Yugeshwor Koirala If necessary, they could be transferred to regional centres to handle surgery for minor burns. The government has already designated six such facilities across the country, and Nakarmi says the Centre could train their staff. He clicks forward on a slide to show a female patient brought in two months ago with her buttocks and thighs burned. “The wound was deep, it was not going to heal on its own. She needed some kind of graft.” If surgeons at a regional facility were properly trained, they could have done the graft. Instead, the patient waited for one month before coming to Kirtipur.&nbsp; Nakarmi is looking for funding for a 70-bed national burn care centre at Kirtipur Hospital, where patients can be isolated from the risk of infection that comes with sharing space in general wards. Another MP, Bindabasini Kansakar, is herself a<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-acid-attack-survivors-find-a-saviour"> survivor of an acid attack </a>by a spurned suitor in 2013. She registered a Bill in Parliament last year that includes specialised burn units in all <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/devolution-for-development">government hospitals </a>with 100+ beds, and in some private hospitals and medical colleges in Kathmandu. She is also calling on the government to create a fund to give immediate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/justice-delayed-justice-denied-byrx8a1c">financial support to victims </a>and their families, discounts for women and children, especially from poorer communities, as well as training for health staff, twice yearly awareness programmes at local levels, and strong penalties to deter acid attacks and intentional burn injuries. Parliament’s delay in passing the Bill is ‘deeply frustrating, especially given my personal experience,’ Kansakar wrote to us.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250314110312_8d1a63b9d63d2ee0c116ffa1bc46e9a3aa5e63e7cdeeceb5a67fd7e772fbe957.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250314110312_8d1a63b9d63d2ee0c116ffa1bc46e9a3aa5e63e7cdeeceb5a67fd7e772fbe957" data-rendition-name="original" width="1446" height="717" loading="lazy" alt="burn incidents in Nepal"> <figcaption>Member of Parliament Bindabasini Kansakar before an acid attack by a spurred suitor in 2013 (left), after, and now. </figcaption> </figure>  ‘I know first-hand the physical, emotional, and financial struggles<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18771"> burn victims </a>endure. Delays mean more victims are left without proper care, financial support, or legal protection,’ she added. ‘If burns affected wealthier or more influential communities, the response might have been swifter. This inequality is precisely why the Bill is so crucial — to ensure<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/justice-delayed-justice-denied-byrx8a1c"> justice and support for all victims</a>, regardless of their social standing.’ Burn incidents are the second most common injury in rural Nepal, according to the World Health Organization, and researcher Kamal Phuyal says that making just a handful of simple adjustments to everyday life could prevent most major burns. Before <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/ways-nepal-can-rebound-from-covid-19-2966ixvu">Covid-19</a>, he ran a research project in three municipalities in the mountains, hills and Tarai. After six months gathering data, the team told locals to make changes in their communities to prevent burns. For the next two and a half years, Phuyal worked with health staff, female community <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/enlisting-female-health-volunteers-to-fight-covid-19-b4qlgy1e">health volunteers</a> and other locals. In that time, the number of major burns in the three districts dropped from 21 to zero for two years running. The most effective change was to stop people from cooking on the ground. “If you can put the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-s-cooking-in-nepal-besides-politics">cooking stoves</a> just three feet (1m) off the ground, 50% of burns can be eliminated,” explains Phuyal.&nbsp; Nakarmi says that 70% of patients at Kirtipur Hospital, too, got burn injuries in the kitchen. “It should be the safest place to be, but it is the most unsafe,” she adds. Phuyal says<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/deputies-drive-development-in-rural-nepal"> local representatives</a> were convinced by his findings and, especially in Makwanpur, eager to make changes. He expected them to adopt a policy to approve construction of a house only if the plans included putting the cooking space 1m off the ground, to reduce burn incidents, Phuyal explained at a training session at Sushma Koirala Memorial Hospital (SKMH) last October. But <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-uneven-covid-19-deaths">Covid-19</a> hit, the project ended, the officials were replaced after elections, and the work lost momentum. Today, no <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/local-government-by-the-people-for-the-people-of-the-people">local government</a> seems to have moved forward on <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18770">burn prevention</a>. During the training session at SKMH, the hospital’s deputy director, Rojina Shilpakar, described some of the burn cases at the facility in recent months. In Dailekh district, two boys were severely burned while collecting fodder. “The parents all thought that they would die so they didn’t take them for medical help. But after two weeks they survived and the story was posted on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-social-media-contagion">social media</a>.” The hospital reached out and arranged for both boys to be brought to Kathmandu, one to Kirtipur Hospital and the other to SKMH, with burns on 40% of his body. “He was emaciated, just flesh and bones, covered in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/medicine-goes-back-to-its-roots?fbclid=IwAR31DMkL6vtx8KFvX3KG79Jf6omKN8H8VZ0Dr9G-1UWtIBlFHNphMJi8mrY">herbal medicine </a>that looked like mud,” recalls Shilpakar. If he had been brought for treatment quickly, he could have recovered sooner, she adds. But he was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nearly-half-of-nepali-children-still-malnourished">malnourished,</a> and contractures had developed where one part of the body sticks to another, preventing movement. “We couldn’t take him to the operating room right away because of his malnourished condition. He had to gain some weight, increase his haemoglobin levels. Even skin grafts were not taken properly, so it affected the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-art-of-healing">healing,</a>” explains Shilpakar. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/pandemic-of-poverty">Poverty</a> prevents many families from<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/it-s-an-emergency-nepal-needs-to-improve-trauma-care"> seeking care</a>, although both facilities will not turn away burn cases for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/poor-cash-rich-nepal">lack of money</a>. SKMH paid the bills for the Dailekh boys' treatment, including an eight-month hospital stay. Now seven, the youngster has already had a follow-up surgery and is likely to need more operations as he grows. Smaller <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/healthcare-moving-from-hospitals-to-homes">hospitals</a> outside Kathmandu often do not not accept severe burn cases, and instead send them immediately to a larger facility. “If the patient dies within a few hours, they will be blamed, So they just try to push them away,” adds Shilpakar. SKMH has been <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16801">training health workers</a> from across the country to treat burns since 2012. This includes countering the prevalent belief at the time that burn victims should not be given fluids. Patients would reach the centre <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/dirty-dangerous-difficult-and-dehydrating">dehydrated</a>, and then go into acute <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/saving-kidneys-to-save-nepal">kidney failure</a>. Some with a high percentage of burns die. Those cases have decreased in the last few years because <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/nepal-health-workers-at-risk-of-workplace-hazards">health workers </a>have been trained, including to give fluids to patients. The treatment at the Cleft and Burn Centre has become much more effective since it opened in 2014. Says Nakarmi: “Back then we could not save anyone who had 40% burns or greater. Now we can save half of victims with 40% burns, and if someone has 60% burns, they have a 15% chance of survival. We aim to save half of patients with 60% burns.” The centre developed a six-day training for health staff on burns care for workers from facilities country-wide, but funding was provided by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/how-usaid-cut-affects-nepal">USAID</a> and has been cut. There is no replacement in sight. Recent increase in government support for burns treatment seems to have been sparked by the case of MP Bhandari. In October, the government announced free treatment for patients from the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/why-nepal-s-poverty-rate-is-stuck"> poorest families</a>.&nbsp; “But there is a little catch,” says Nakarmi. “The treatment of destitute burn victims, are supposed to be covered right? But everyone else also wants to get support. A lot of Nepali people are not destitute, but they are poor. We just try to cover their costs as much as possible.”

A burning problem that needs solutions

For the longest time, most <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/hunger-for-governance">Nepalis lacked adequate food</a> and were <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/we-are-what-we-eat">undernourished</a>. Fast forward three decades, and the country is starting to grapple with obesity. At the pace with which the proportion of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/diabetes-in-south-asia,3018">overweight people</a> is growing, half of Nepal’s adult population will be obese by 2050, according to a forecast study published this week in the health journal The Lancet. This is much higher than next-door India where about one-third of its vast population is projected to be obese. Alarm bells should be ringing because the study shows a rise in obesity over the last 35 years. Nearly 12% of men were obese in 1990, and this had risen to about 30% by 2021, and is expected to rise to 52.5% by 2050. As for women, about 14% were obese in 1990, and this more than doubled to 28% in 2021, and will reach 48% in the next 25 years (graph).  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250314030340_5a381f60225e865970832c7e7dd3595be624cafe51f784183038a5f9a5d8f7e4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250314030340_5a381f60225e865970832c7e7dd3595be624cafe51f784183038a5f9a5d8f7e4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1221" height="494" loading="lazy" alt="Obesity graph"> <figcaption>Data: THE LANCET</figcaption> </figure>  As for obesity in children, the collective figure for South Asia in 1991 was 0.9% which is expected to increase to 8.3% by 2050. Similarly, the figure for overweight children in the region was 3.3% in 1991 and is projected to reach 9.3%. “Obesity is the mother of all diseases, it is the biggest <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/poor-health-makes-nepalis-poorer">public health concern </a>draining our already<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/local-governments-lack-resources-to-tackle-covid-19-rup2466w"> limited resources</a>,” says public health expert Aruna Uprety. “Changing eating habits including the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/junk-food-is-making-nepali-children-shorter"> intake of junk food</a> and a sedentary lifestyle is making more and more Nepalis overweight.” Obesity has been associated with diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, heart, kidney and liver diseases, visual impairment, dementia, infertility, and certain cancers. Increasing obesity means dietary plans and fitness have become big business, even though many people cannot lose weight fast enough. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/a-deadly-sugar-rush">A deadly sugar rush</a>, Yugottam Koirala In 2017, in came a new drug that has become a game changer: the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18656">anti-diabetic medication </a>Ozempic developed by the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk. By chance, it was also found to be effective for weight loss, and Ozempic export and licenses gave the company a market value of $570 billion, making it larger than the Danish economy.&nbsp; “Ozempic is a classic case of a serendipitous discovery,” explains Buddha Basnyat of the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit. “It was supposed to be a drug for diabetes, and not intended for weight loss. But it was so effective, it threatened to put weight loss regimens in danger of going out of business.” An active ingredient in Ozempic is the compound semaglutide, which belongs to a class of molecules known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) that delays gastric emptying, causing a feeling of fullness. It also seems to influence areas of the brain that controls<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/growing-appetite-for-school-lunches"> appetite</a>, making people feel sated. It also reduces<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-heat-is-killing-us"> cardiovascular disease</a> as well as the risk of dementia, and in stroke prevention and fighting alcoholism. Says Basnyat: “In many ways, Ozempic is that one <a href="about:blank">modern medicine</a> that can treat a lot of conditions. It is a blockbuster drug.” Ozempic is not available in Nepal yet but as a Least Developed Country (LDC), the country is exempt from patent protection for pharmaceuticals until 1 January 2033, and can manufacture generic medicines without compensating or informing the innovators. Novo Nordisk is set to enter the Indian market despite quickly approaching patent expiry in January 2026. Its patent in China is also set to expire in 2026. “<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-must-allow-foreign-investment-in-pharmaceuticals">Manufacturing a new drug</a> in Nepal isn’t simple as approval doesn’t come easy unlike in our neighbouring countries but we are trying,” says Shankar Ghimire of Asian Pharmaceuticals about Ozempic, adding that it did start working on semaglutide three years ago. “If we have approval, we can bring the molecule and formulate it here in three months.” Ozempic is usually given as an injection once a week but is also available in a pill form called Rybelsus which has to be taken daily. The drug can cost about Rs10,000 per month. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and bloating are some of the side effects to the drug. Because it can cause rapid muscle loss, users may experience sagging and develop a gaunt appearance. Stopping the medication could again lead to weight gain. Aruna Uprety also cautions against following certain weight loss trends too quickly, and to take into considerations specific health needs and conditions before taking new medication. She says: “We don’t yet know long term effects of these drugs for obesity, elsewhere people are also opting for bariatric stomach surgery but nothing quite beats a healthy diet and natural methods to keep fit.” &nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-karnali-s-hunger-emergency">The Karnali’s hunger emergency</a>, Anita Bhetwal

Undernourished to overweight

“I do not know if I will survive till then,” Lil Bahadur Chettri said to &nbsp;visitors last month in Guwahati while the city’s tightly knit Nepali-speaking community was preparing to mark the author’s 93rd birthday on 1 March.&nbsp; Chettri was frail, but his mind was sharp as he recalled to the visitors from Nepal how his classic novel बसाइँ (Basain) was first published in 1958.&nbsp; <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Book-Review/I-feel,240">Lil Bahadur Chettri</a> did attend his birthday on 1 March with the launch of a collection of his novels, लीलबहादुर क्षत्री उपन्यास समग्र, but the multi-award winning author died on 13 March at his home in Guwahati.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250314050320_c7eb3f7ba3ee66bcc02bcc9993c6cde074f2ac0e7de10b293de47220da32bc80.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250314050320_c7eb3f7ba3ee66bcc02bcc9993c6cde074f2ac0e7de10b293de47220da32bc80" data-rendition-name="original" width="1764" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Lil Bahadur Chettri"> <figcaption>With visiting members of Madan Puraskar Guthi in Guwahati last month. Photo: RUPA JOSHI</figcaption> </figure>  At least two generations of Nepalis know <a href="https://thuprai.com/book/basain/" target="_blank">Basain</a> almost by heart because it was a literature textbook at Tribhuvan University. Like thousands of others, Chettri’s family migrated to Assam from the mountains of eastern Nepal, and the novel was about factors like indebtedness, poverty and discrimination that were driving Nepalis out.. The novel nearly never got printed, Chettri recalled in the recent meeting. He had sent the manuscript to Kamal Dixit in Kathmandu of <a href="https://guthi.madanpuraskar.org/" target="_blank">Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya</a>, and after not hearing from him thought it was not good enough to be printed. “One day, a friend from Darjeeling came to have me autograph my own book, and I did not even know it had been published,” Chettri remembered with a chuckle.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250314050320_d6f4b334800bf02be6b9ec27c7f5aba925c5d59c1228249f71c7b880336c7878.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250314050320_d6f4b334800bf02be6b9ec27c7f5aba925c5d59c1228249f71c7b880336c7878" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1778" loading="lazy" alt="Lil Bahadur Chettri"> <figcaption>Lil Bahadur Chettri walked unassisted to bid farewell to visitors from Nepal three weeks before he died on Thursday in Assam. Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption> </figure>  Basain went on to become a bestseller, and has much resonance 70 years later since the push factors driving outmigration from Nepal are still the same, even as the volume of people leaving has grown.&nbsp; Chettri wrote in a preface to the first edition of Basain in 1958: 'Do Nepalis leave their homes because they wish to? Perhaps that is true for many of them, but for others it is quite a different matter. I chose the misery and mystery that lie at the root of this as the theme of Basain.’ <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=14397" target="_blank">Basain was translated into English</a> in 2008 on the 50th anniversary of its first publication by Michael J Hutt of the School of Oriental and African Studies with the title <a href="https://thuprai.com/author/lila-bahadur-kshetri/?srsltid=AfmBOopdpmx2mVBc35IuP0QoWwjXoP37ljD4iUcv6Bu3FFT91iGAaVx2" target="_blank">Mountains Painted with Turmeric</a>. But in a cruel irony, Tribhuvan University a few years ago removed Basain from its list of required reading for Nepali literature students.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250314050324_796c88143b8d0fcd777e3830ae7b3baa44927180825fc8d576b2c25b7947de55.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250314050324_796c88143b8d0fcd777e3830ae7b3baa44927180825fc8d576b2c25b7947de55" data-rendition-name="original" width="1400" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Lil Bahadur Chettri books"> </figure>  In the get-together with members of <a href="https://madanpuraskar.org/" target="_blank">Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya</a> in Guwahati last month, the author needed help to walk into his living room. Faltering in his speech at first, he grew more and more animated during the one hour meeting as he remembered fondly the respect he got whenever he visited Nepal. Chettri lived with his son and his family, and slept in a bedroom full of books that he called “my jungle”. His daughter-in-law Kalpana was surprised how much meeting the guests from Nepal invigorated him.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025031406034_86cced4ce43dd066ac50f40d102c19c9a32c1281086f9085554477f3f30d74f3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="2025031406034_86cced4ce43dd066ac50f40d102c19c9a32c1281086f9085554477f3f30d74f3" data-rendition-name="original" width="2731" height="4096" loading="lazy" alt="Lil Bahadur Chettri"> <figcaption>Lil Bahadur Chettri receiving the Padma Shri from the President of India Ram Nath Kovind in 2021. Photo: PRESIDENT OF INDIA / X</figcaption> </figure>  “Your visit has been like medicine for him,” she said. “We hear him talking to his books at night.” When it was time to leave, Lil Bahadur Chettri walked unassisted to the door to bid the visitors from Nepal good bye. Lil Bahadur Chettri was born on 1 March 1933 in Guwahati of Assam state in India. In 2016, he was awarded the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagadamba_Shree_Puraskar" target="_blank">Jagadamba Shree</a> prize by Madan Puraskar Guthi in Nepal and got the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padma_Shri" target="_blank">Padma Shri</a> from the President of India in 2021 for his contribution to literature and education. He was also a recipient of India’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padma_Shri" target="_blank">Sahitya Academy Award</a> for his book ब्रह्मपुत्रको छेउछाउ. In his Jagadamba Shree acceptance speech nine years ago, Lil Bahadur Chettri had said: “Our ancestors left Nepal, and have been living outside for generations. But for us, our Nepali culture with its language, literature is still precious to us.”

Lil Bahadur Chettri, 93

Kathmandu was once a lake inhabited by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/snakes-on-plains">serpents</a>, until Manjushree visiting from present-day China saw a fluorescent lotus in the water. To reach it, the sage used his flaming sword to cut a gorge <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/dry-port-at-chobhar-faces-resistance">at Chobhar</a>, draining the lake and turning it into a fertile valley. The Manjushree Trail Race (MTR) is inspired by this legend. There are five categories along a near-circular route around the rim of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/bringing-silicon-valley-to-kathmandu-valley">Kathmandu Valley</a>: 10k, 30k, 50k, 100k, and one that is 100 miles that is 157.7km (map, right). The 100 miles category starts at 8AM on 14 March, and runners have 52 hours until noon on 16 March to complete it. Arjun Kulung Rai’s 26:52:56 is the current record, set in 2024. “<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=17327">The Manjushree legend</a> and the perfect loop make the race very meaningful, and I wanted to do it,” says participant Dong Sheng from the northern Chinese city of Harbin who started running in 2016 with 5k until he accomplished a 100 miler in 2022. “<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/first-edition-ultra-trail-kathmandu,1050">Running </a>is spiritual, as you are always trying to overcome what you could previously do.” Sheng is one of 131 international runners who have signed up for the Manjushree race, where there are a total of 502 participants this year, 94 of them women. The first edition of the race only had 7 runners total. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepali-trail-running-champions">Nepali trail running champions</a>, Preeti Khattri “A reason this race is popular is because it is a good mix of rural and accessible,” says Jimmy Oostrom, a Dutch runner. “Often, 100-milers are way out of the way. Here, the start is only a short drive after landing in Kathmandu.”&nbsp; The 100 mile and 50km are now qualifier races for the Asia Trail Masters, an international series of trail races based in Hong Kong. Last year, a Nepali team competed and won in the Asia Trail Master Championship series in Borneo. The 100-mile category starts and finishes at Single Tree on Nagarjun, other distances have different start and end points. On the winning team was Rashila Tamang, who is part of Trailmandu that implements logistics for the race, such as recruiting and training volunteers, and marking the route. “Nepal has great <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=9938">geography</a> for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/mira-rai-racing-to-help-other-runners">trail running</a>, but it is still very hard to make it your career,” says Tamang.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025031219034_98b83aa3d42c7d5e8a2ef2f80dc03512374413e31eb55441234cd075bea7e113.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="2025031219034_98b83aa3d42c7d5e8a2ef2f80dc03512374413e31eb55441234cd075bea7e113" data-rendition-name="original" width="1244" height="598" loading="lazy" alt="Manjushree Trail map "> </figure>  The MTR has a guidebook detailing the categories, route, checkpoints, rules and what is available at each stop.&nbsp; “If we say we’re going to start at 8, we’re going to start at 8,” says Narayan Acharya, the man behind naming the race ‘Manjushree’. “People tried to sign up after the deadline, we had to tell them no.” Acharya who builds <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/foundations-for-sustainable-buildings-in-nepal">traditional rammed earth houses</a> through his company Sustainable Future Nepal, has been long involved with promoting trail running in Nepal, and hailing from Jumla himself, mentored <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/run-sunmaya-run">Sunmaya Budha</a> also from Jumla, now a trail running star in and outside Nepal. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/sunmaya-budha-stays-in-the-running">Sunmaya Budha stays in the running</a>, Vishad Raj Onta&nbsp; The organisers are sponsoring up to 50 runners from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/portrait-of-a-photographer-in-rural-nepal">rural Nepal</a> who may not afford the Rs6,000 entry fee to participate. “It is hard to get sponsors to give us money because Nepal is still a pretty small market,” says Oostrom, currently on crutches due to an ACL injury. “We also have to take the necessary precautions to make sure we can quickly help a runner in trouble.” The logistics of an ultra trail race are more complicated than a <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=1223">marathon</a>. Marking and maintaining the trail requires careful work, especially as signs often get lost. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-steadfastness-of-a-long-distance-runner">long distances </a>also require runners to run through the night.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025031219030_19111e03939541b8980007437c89966dc7a8fd6246b8407440694503bf7890a3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2025031219030_19111e03939541b8980007437c89966dc7a8fd6246b8407440694503bf7890a3" data-rendition-name="original" width="2250" height="1501" loading="lazy" alt="Manjushree Trail "> </figure>  A <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/business/buddha-air-gets-state-of-the-art-flight-tracking-system">live tracking system </a>would ensure a runner’s safety as well as prevent cheating, but for now organisers are relying on vigilant volunteers and fellow runners to find runners needing help. There are strict rules for the race, and breaking them can result in significant time penalties or even disqualification. Get food or drink assistance outside of the checkpoints and you get a penalty of 15 minutes. Miss any pieces of mandatory gear and an hour is added to your time. Take some sort of shortcut or cheat using a vehicle, and you are disqualified. There are dangers like cliffs <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/cantilever-trail-nepal">along the trail</a>, lightning on exposed ridges, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/disasters-in-nepal-come-in-waves">landslides caused by earthquakes</a>, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/trekking-to-save-nepals-snow-leopards">leopards</a>, and hornet swarms. Ultra running takes a massive toll on the body. The brain may shut off certain areas to be able to keep going, so volunteers watch runners carefully.&nbsp; “After mile 50, your body starts digesting itself,” says Oostrom.&nbsp; Alongside Acharya and Oostrom, the organising crew is made up of race director Ashish Mishra, and Jeevan Lama and Rashila Tamang from Trailmandu. “We can execute this race well because we are all passionate runners ourselves,” says Acharya. The team has taken measures to make the race safe and comfortable for female participants. ‘Run freely, speak openly, and wear what makes you feel comfortable in our races,’ says the guidebook. Prize money is the same for male and female winners, across categories.&nbsp; Lately, Nepal has been steadily building itself as a destination for<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/taking-the-high-line"> adventure sports </a>such as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-pushes-mountain-bike-tourism">mountain biking</a> and trail running. And with the Manjushree race, enthusiasts have hopes to set the standard for other trail races in the country. Sheng has been part of big races in China. “The better the economy, and more money people have, the more they can get involved in such pursuits,” he says. “But I have to say, for the scale of this race, everything has been done very professionally.”&nbsp;

Around Kathmandu in 100 miles

Top news

This editorial published 20 years ago this week might as well have been written today. Party leaders too busy with power struggles just don’t have time for governance. Disillusioned and tired of these same hopeless leaders, there is some support even for reverting to monarchy. Excerpt from<a href="https://d1i1jdw69xsqx0.cloudfront.net/digitalhimalaya/collections/journals/nepalitimes/pdf/Nepali_Times_239.pdf"> issue #239 18 – 24 March 2005</a>:
It is no great secret that the political leadership had stagnated, lacked internal democracy, and exhibited a shameless inability to work together not just among parties but also within their own hierarchies. Too preoccupied with power struggles, they didn’t see how far astray they had gone. This allowed outsiders, especially after October 2002, to play politicos off against each other and manipulate them.
Their fecklessness undermined democracy, took the country to the brink and made February First 2005 desirable in the eyes of many. One just needs to remember the headlines from the past 10 years to realise how deeply the rot had set in: horse-trading and floor-crossing, boycotts of parliament, politicisation of the police and bureaucracy, the cynical undermining of the democratic process for short-term partisan gain. And all along, in the offing, was the ominous thunder of an approaching insurgency.
Everytime this country’s politics has come to a crossroad, the party leadership had the chance to look beyond petty concerns to the larger and enduring national interest. Sadly, they repeatedly mistook the cause for deeds, the process for outcome. It was as if, once elected, they didn’t have to show accountability. Adolescent democracies everywhere are rambunctious and noisy. The difference in Nepal was that politicians were not even fighting for seats at the dinner table, they were scrambling on the floor for crumbs. 
For archived material of Nepali Times of the past 20 years, site search: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/">nepalitimes.com</a>

Same old story

Nepal’s former king Gyanendra was greeted by flag-waving supporters as he arrived at Kathmandu Airport on Sunday afternoon from Pokhara after attending pro-monarchy rallies in various parts of the country. Gyanendra and his family were escorted from the airport by supporters to his residence at Nirmal Niwas, where his family has been living since 2008 when the Constituent Assembly abolished the monarchy. The 2015 Constitution then turned Nepal into a federal democratic republic. The deposed monarch had been on a two-month long tour of religious sites and local communities across western Nepal, ending in a two-week stay in Pokhara. After staying out of controversy, Gyanendra made a statement on Nepal’s Democracy Day last month in which he said he was willing to play a role in “saving the country”. There has been a surge of pro-monarchy posts and videos on social media, where the country’s previous kings have been glorified as being nationalists who were respected by the international community.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250309120340_07b324fee8d082ed3f8566544e24d45fcd600bbb122374fc39c7a94ce3d044f2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250309120340_07b324fee8d082ed3f8566544e24d45fcd600bbb122374fc39c7a94ce3d044f2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1914" height="1276" loading="lazy" alt="The ghost of monarchy returns to haunt Nepal NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250309120340_769f688f3a5eb3602f4c24c350ba1caa6965a171c079d783e28db0f746b810d0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250309120340_769f688f3a5eb3602f4c24c350ba1caa6965a171c079d783e28db0f746b810d0" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="The ghost of monarchy returns to haunt Nepal NT"> </figure>  Nepal’s monarchists, which include Gyanendra’s backers, several pro-monarchist parties and other anti-government figures, think <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/new-year-same-difference">public disillusionment </a>with the country’s ageing and ineffective leaders and institutions is at breaking point.&nbsp; There is also disappointment with elected leaders and technocrats from new parties like the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), with its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/rabi-s-detention-churns-nepali-politics">leader Rabi Lamichhane under investigation</a> for his alleged involvement in a scandal involving diverting funds from cooperatives. One of the staunchest backers of Gyanendra’s comeback as king is former BBC journalist Rabindra Mishra, who has been active on social media platforms posting videos and text extolling the monarchy. He has referenced recent street uprisings in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Syria, cautioning Nepal’s mainstream leaders not to dismiss support for the monarchy. ‘Support for a return to monarchy is increasing even though the mainstream parties may dismiss it,’ wrote Mishra. ‘Like the leaders of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, they should not try to suppress the voices on the streets.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250309120340_d8758f6b7474c9f3aea3661ccd60955d8553971cb0d799039bbfd232aa1a0691.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250309120340_d8758f6b7474c9f3aea3661ccd60955d8553971cb0d799039bbfd232aa1a0691" data-rendition-name="original" width="1890" height="1260" loading="lazy" alt="The ghost of monarchy returns to haunt Nepal NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250309120340_63613759744c0fac33ff3eabc298079c3e525063882f4b3760954bbc0833b5cd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20250309120340_63613759744c0fac33ff3eabc298079c3e525063882f4b3760954bbc0833b5cd" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="The ghost of monarchy returns to haunt Nepal NT"> </figure>  But for all their bluster, Nepal’s mainstream politicians who have rotated leadership of the country between themselves, seem worried about the crowds on the streets in support of the monarchy. The TikTok ban last year, which the government said was to ‘maintain social harmony’ was put into effect to prevent pro-monarchy groups from organising on the platform. The ban on TikTok has now been lifted, and supporters of the monarchy have mobilised platforms to fan nostalgia of the golden age of royalty, and to brand former kings Mahendra and Birendra as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/a-past-foretold">nationalists who upheld Nepal’s sovereignty during the Cold War</a> and commanded respect worldwide. Archival video clips of Mahendra being received by President Eisenhower in 1960 and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-could-still-be-a-monarchy">Birendra </a>by President Reagan in 1983 have been liked by thousands. Comments contrast this to the incompetence and poor standing of Nepal’s current prime ministers.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250309120340_7dab05f5703e17a82da73277f0b39bf178c1005e0758aa50077ffe1a037f4af6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250309120340_7dab05f5703e17a82da73277f0b39bf178c1005e0758aa50077ffe1a037f4af6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1810" height="1206" loading="lazy" alt="The ghost of monarchy returns to haunt Nepal NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250309120340_1ab38cdccfd076babd78579fa345520a7b2fa9c838322226a259540c8c290437.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250309120340_1ab38cdccfd076babd78579fa345520a7b2fa9c838322226a259540c8c290437" data-rendition-name="original" width="1812" height="1206" loading="lazy" alt="The ghost of monarchy returns to haunt Nepal NT"> </figure>  While most of the people present at the demonstration included the older demographic, younger people have especially used social media to express their support for the monarchy. Young Nepalis, disillusioned with leaders who have been prime minister multiple times since the mid-1990s, are attracted to the idea of reinstating the monarchy as a form of anti-incumbent protest, but also because they have little to no memory of living under an authoritarian absolute monarchy. ‘Those who say the monarchy is paramount today are the ones who did not live through it in the past, and are dissatisfied with the current state of affairs,’ wrote Guna Raj Luitel, Chief Editor of Nagarik Daily, in an op-ed in the newspaper on Sunday.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250309120340_720d0059207b9918def39e983d9b5c114b6afb4e7ac0ed1dadd2cba2f20f9aa6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250309120340_720d0059207b9918def39e983d9b5c114b6afb4e7ac0ed1dadd2cba2f20f9aa6" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="The ghost of monarchy returns to haunt Nepal NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250309120340_bfe50ebd413d1b177ebd02df5f837038d8a04c9d343afe39be1ebcde36db893a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250309120340_bfe50ebd413d1b177ebd02df5f837038d8a04c9d343afe39be1ebcde36db893a" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="The ghost of monarchy returns to haunt Nepal NT"> </figure>  He added: ‘For those of us who have spent parts of our lives under the rule of the king… we have not yet forgotten those days, when the institution was unable to do any useful work, a disheartening period characterised by Nepalis being unable to speak freely.’ Commentators have especially been pointing to Gyanendra’s military coup in 2005 when he dissolved parliament, and tried to take the country back to the time of absolute monarchy, just like his father Mahendra did in 1960. Gyanendra became king after his brother and most of his family were killed in the royal palace massacre in 2001. Many Nepalis still seem to believe that Gyanendra was responsible, and some of this is reflected in comments on monarchist social media posts. As the monarchist rallies spread, Prime Minister K P Oli said last week that if Gyanendra really wanted power, he should form a political party and run in the next elections in 2027. Other leaders have urged the former king to honour the 2008 Constitutional Assembly decision to abolish the monarchy, as well as Nepal’s 2015 Constitution.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250309120340_978ef979c7774312ac00d3192803d974ea57ec45d704f89663b301f4f0cc9704.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250309120340_978ef979c7774312ac00d3192803d974ea57ec45d704f89663b301f4f0cc9704" data-rendition-name="original" width="1832" height="1221" loading="lazy" alt="The ghost of monarchy returns to haunt Nepal NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250309120340_d11276de0161d258f135e8fba4d3eb37d0a9e579b06a4819c6609b4ecdbbe51e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="20250309120340_d11276de0161d258f135e8fba4d3eb37d0a9e579b06a4819c6609b4ecdbbe51e" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="The ghost of monarchy returns to haunt Nepal NT"> </figure>  &nbsp;In response, royalist leaders including Kamal Thapa, Rajendra Lingden, and Rabindra Mishra have responded that the monarchy is above the electoral system, calling for the reinstatement of a constitutional monarchy in which Gyanendra would be a figurehead. “There is no question of the king contesting an election, that is our job,” said RPP-Nepal chair Kamal Thapa in a tv interview. “The monarchy is a custodian of the nation, it is an institution above electoral politics.” However, there does seem to be a disagreement between hardline royalists who want a return to absolute monarchy in which Gyanendra would actually hold executive powers, and those who favour a ceremonial one. Gyanendra recently visited Bhutan, where he was given a royal welcome, and has made several trips to India where there is some support for reinstating Nepal as the world’s only Hindu kingdom.

The ghost of monarchy returns to haunt Nepal

Frustrated with revolving door <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-geopolitics-of-nepal-s-politics">politics</a> with the same <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/tried-tested-and-failed">tired, tested and failed </a>leaders, Nepal’s cybersphere is harking back to the good old days when we had strongmen rulers like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/jung-bahadur-s-destitute-descendants">Jang Bahadur Rana </a>or <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/king-mahendra-didn-t-pay-hunting-bill-in-us">King Mahendra</a>. The<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/inside-story-of-nepal-s-rana-dynasty"> century-long Rana oligarchy</a> ended 74 years ago this week, and the Shah kings airbrushed <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-insect-that-changed-nepal-s-history">Nepal’s history</a> to downplay their achievements and glorify their own dynasty. After <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-could-still-be-a-monarchy">the monarchy</a> was abolished in 2008, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-role-of-rituals-in-royalty">the Shah kings</a> were similarly vilified. But Nepali society is mature enough to realise that the truth is not all black and white. Jang Bahadur may have usurped power in a ruthless coup, but he was a geopolitical strategist way ahead of his time. Whatever you may say about King Mahendra’s efforts in quashing <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/is-democracy-too-expensive-for-nepal">democracy</a> and pushing a unitary state, he defended <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/nepal-should-recognise-palestinian-sovereignty">Nepal’s sovereignty</a> and projected its international image right through the sensitive Cold War period. Jang Bahadur in England is a new Nepali language book by journalist Gajendra Budhathoki about the visit in 1850 by Nepal’s prime minister to England and France, the first by a South Asian potentate. He met Queen Victoria and by all accounts was able to establish Nepal’s presence on the world stage. Historians have long mulled why a devout Hindu like Jang Bahadur would want to break the taboo and cross the Black Waters. Budhathoki recounts the incident upon his arrival at Southampton on 2 May 1850, when British customs officials tried to check the belongings of the Nepali entourage. Furious, Jang Bahadur threatened to sail right back to France if they opened any of the bags. Jang had three main reasons for his trip. Essentially he was on a spy mission to assess <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/a-forgotten-gurkha-rebellion-e8z403ab">British military</a> might to decide if it was worthwhile for Nepal to try to militarily take back territory ceded to British India in the Sugauli Treaty of 1816. So, Jang asked his perplexed hosts to show him cannon factories, artillery and naval yards. He even visited Woolwich Arsenal (now the Royal Arsenal) not once, but three times.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/looking-back-at-the-1923-nepal-britain-treaty">Looking back at the 1923 Nepal-Britain Treaty</a>, Santa Gaha Magar Suitably impressed, Jang decided to be Britain’s BFF, and even rode down to Lucknow with 3,200 Nepali troops to rescue the British from the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. As a reward, the British gave back the Tarai districts of Banke, Bardia, Kailali, and Kanchanpur (Naya Muluk). This close relationship continued with Jang’s descendants right till the time the British left India in 1947. Jang Bahadur was also fed up with the Governor General Lord Dalhousie in Calcutta who tended to bully Nepal, and wanted to build direct contacts with his bosses in London. The British told him Dalhousie was their man in India, and Jang should deal with him. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-way-we-were">Jang’s visit to France</a> does not get as much attention in the book, but he was also trying to gauge France’s strength and to see if its military was more powerful than Britain’s. At that time, France was Britain’s main rival and was trying to make inroads in India. At the Louvre, Jang Bahadur was drawn to exhibits reflecting French military prowess. Later, when he met Louis Napoleon III, he asked if he could see a parade of 900,000 troops to assess France’s military might.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/nepal-france-ties-in-photos">Nepal-France ties in photos</a>, Reeti KC Freshly returned from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/a-long-way-to-europe">Europe</a>, an emboldened Jang Bahadur Rana led Nepal in a war against Tibet in 1855 which ended with the Treaty of Thapathali a year later. This was the third time Nepal and Tibet had fought, the first time being soon after <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/guest-editorial/Prithvi-Narayan-Shah-a-visionary-leader,1102">Prithvi Narayan Shah</a> in 1788.&nbsp; The Qing Dynasty came to the rescue of Tibet, and while both sides claimed victory, the Sino-Nepalese War ended essentially as a stalemate with the Treaty of Betrawati.&nbsp; All of this is detailed in Axel Michaels’ book, Nepal: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present which is a recent English translation of his German Kultur und Geschichte Nepals published in 2018.&nbsp; Michaels is a Professor of Classical Indology and Religious Studies at Heidelberg University, and writes that Nepal mattered little to China. Proof of this is that while both Nepal and Tibet agreed to accept the suzerainty of the Qing emperor following the war, Nepal managed to retain its autonomy but Beijing asserted its control over <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/business/himalaya-to-lhasa">Lhasa</a>. And despite a clause in the treaty which stated, ‘if a foreign power attacks Nepal, China shall support Nepal’, China never did so during the1814–16 war with the East India Company.&nbsp; This practice has continued to this day. Aside from token petroleum shipments, Beijing did not help out Nepal during the Indian Blockade of 2015. Even though Nepali leaders have tried to play India off against China, the two do not find Nepal important enough to fight over and prefer to leave it as a buffer state between them.&nbsp; In that sense, Britain also did not press home its victory after 1816 and left Nepal alone. The malarial jungles to the south, rugged Himalayan terrain and the lack of marketable products (except soldiers) may have persuaded the traders at the East Indian Company that it was not worth the effort. There is a lesson from history here for Nepal: the country must look out for itself, and this requires deft diplomacy to understand what our giant neighbours really want and leverage it for our gain. This may require strategies like the ones made by Jang Bahadur and King Mahendra after all. Michaels is not a fan of either the Rana or the Shah dynasties. He says that although the Rana era is characterised as ‘a century of tyranny’, the description holds true for the Shah period as well.&nbsp; Michaels does not mince his words about Gurkha recruitment into the British and Indian Armies (another legacy of the Sugauli Treaty). He calls the mercenaries ‘cheap labour’ and Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘represents a continuation of the King-Brahmin alliance’. In fact, he goes at length to discuss how the Khas-Arya used ‘Hindu state’ to homogenise a country that couldn’t have been more diverse. But democracy has not served Nepal well either. Corruption, impunity and lack of transparency are rife. And so, Michaels asks if Nepal is a failed state. No it is not, but it is a fragile state. He leaves us with these parting words: ‘If Nepal succeeds in continuing down this road, preserving its ethnic and cultural diversity, leaving the ethnic populations with a certain degree of autonomy, while at the same time integrating them into political decision-making processes, and if it manages the reforms needed for land-ownership, labour, education, infrastructure, then the country can become a model for unity in diversity, even in the age of leveling globalisation.’&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250222070248_a32db0a1e39c4a3a5158af81bbcf927aeb96524bcbc6b41086a223685642b367.jpg" data-media-id="editor_17" data-image-id="20250222070248_a32db0a1e39c4a3a5158af81bbcf927aeb96524bcbc6b41086a223685642b367" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Jang Bahadur in England "> </figure>  &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250222070252_e2fa5309f10d36f963243c24ea06d7d354d3dfaf24c7ef283d70369fbeabd02e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_18" data-image-id="20250222070252_e2fa5309f10d36f963243c24ea06d7d354d3dfaf24c7ef283d70369fbeabd02e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal Book"> </figure>  &nbsp;