<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100132/63bfd47a9c7e80680e0d30aajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"/><figcaption>Photo: GOPEN RAI</figcaption></figure>Just as outmigration of Nepali youth is a safety valve that lets the government off the hook to find jobs for them at home and the money they send home is the country’s economic lifeline, this year’s elections served as a political safety valve.Economic frustration can easily turn into political unrest, and the election of various independent, excluded and previously outlawed individuals has helped release some socio-political tension.There were many ups and downs with implementation of the 2015 Constitution, but it did channel accumulated grievances through political representation for those left out in the past.To be sure, the established parties still hold sway. Proof of this was the election of Sher Bahadur Deuba as leader of the Nepali Congress (NC) parliamentary party, which paves the way for his sixth term as prime minister.But the elections in 2022 also allowed Nepali voters to vent their fury, and bring in the likes of Balen Shah in Kathmandu and Rabi Lamichhane in Chitwan.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/government-of-the-leaders-for-the-leaders-by-the-leaders/">Government of the leaders, for the leaders, by the leaders</a>, Shristi KarkiThe polls have even provided new political space for former Madhes separatist C K Raut, and for the indigenous Tharu community of the Tarai to carve a separate political identity for their Janamat Party.Just the presence of these personalities and parties will not be enough to bring meaningful change, but their representation is the first step in righting past wrongs.The Constitution may be flawed and incomplete, but it has recognised Nepal’s ethno-cultural diversity to a limited extent. There is a difference between diversity and division. Nepal’s ethnic, linguistic, and religious mosaic is in fact our nation’s social capital, our cultural wealth.The role of elected representatives now is not to try to meld, but manage this medley. Nepalis are now politically astute, and cannot be pushed around. The goal of the new Parliament must be to broaden this awareness so it translates into inclusive and equitable progress.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/caste-vote/">Caste vote</a>, Chandra KishoreDeuba defeated Gagan Thapa to lead the NC party by the vote count, but he lost at the moral level. Gagan has rightly gauged the national mood for generational change not just within the NC but in the other old parties. He has shown that internal party democracy is necessary to safeguard Nepal’s democracy.Unlike Deuba, there were no rivals for Pushpa Kamal Dahal and K P Oli from within their parties because they sidelined all potential adversaries long ago. But the Maoist and UML parties are already feeling the aftershocks of Gagan Thapa’s challenge to Deuba. Many young turks are thinking: if he can do it, so can we.The rise of the RSP and RPP in November elections also show that there is a socio-political churning afoot in Nepal. There is disenchantment in a section of the electorate with federalism, republicanism, and secularism — the three pillars of the 2015 Constitution.  The rout of Madhes-based parties which were at the forefront of the federalism struggle was a rude awakening.Nepal now needs a stable government that can deliver. But the NC needs support from smaller parties, which means more backroom deals. A NC-UML coalition, on the other hand, would make them too dominant and drown out new voices.The Nepali people in their wisdom have sent a strong message to the established parties: you may continue to be in power, but your days are numbered. Voters also reaffirmed their trust in the democratic system to give voice to those historically deprived of it, and the main parties will disregard this at their own peril.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/in-with-the-new-out-with-some-of-the-old/">In with the new, out with (some of) the old</a>, Anita BhetwalChandra Kishore is a Birganj-based political commentator. This is his second monthly column BORDERLINES in Nepali Times. @kishore_chandra

Chandra Kishore

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Safety valve politics

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100132/63bfd3f29c7e80680e0d3080jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"/><figcaption>Photo: GOPEN RAI</figcaption></figure>Coalition politics means principles do not matter any more. Nowhere is this truer than in Nepal where none of the main parties got a majority in November elections, and are wooing fringe parties by freeing their cadre serving time in jail for crimes.Since Parliament has not convened yet, the main parties have taken this decision by ordinance so they get the total 138 seats in the House to form a government.A cabinet meeting of the caretaker government on Sunday sent a letter to President Bidya Devi Bhandari informing her about the ordinance to amend the National Criminal Procedure (Code) Act 2017, which would allow the government to grant amnesty to political prisoners.Subsection 8 of Section 116 of the Criminal Procedure Code stipulates that no case which is under consideration at the stage of appeal, reference, review or revision shall be subject to withdrawal.The ordinance seeks to add a provision which will allow dismissal of pending court cases against parties or groups engaged in violent politics.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/arnico-panday-the-political-scientist/">Arnico Panday, the political scientist</a>, Nepali TimesIf passed, the ordinance will facilitate the release of Nagarik Unmukti Party leader Resham Chaudhary to join the government and give the governing alliance the number it requires in Parliament. Chaudhary’s wife Ranjita Shrestha is the chair of the party and one of three newly-elected MPs from the new party. Resham Chaudhary is serving a life sentence for his involvement in the 2015 Tikapur massacre of policemen.The ordinance will also benefit Janamat Party leader C K Raut, some of whose party cadres are in prison. Janamat Party has six elected MPs.But more importantly, it sets a precedent for amnesty for Maoists, security forces and politicians who are accused to war crimes during the 1996-2006 conflict.Government spokesperson Gyanendra Bahadur Karki tries to put a gloss on the decision by saying that the ordinance was designed to bring parties that have had “violent disagreements to the country’s political system to the mainstream … and foster political unity”.But the real intention behind the ordinance is not lost on most Nepalis, and the opposition UML as well as other parties that won seats in the November elections expressed outrage.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/seats-of-power/">Seats of power</a>, Shristi KarkiInterestingly, the most vocal criticism of the ordinance came from within the Nepali Congress (NC) which leads the coalition. In a scathing rebuke, NC leader Gagan Thapa wrote on social media: ‘The ordinance is legally, politically and morally unsound. It is unconstitutional and against the spirit of democracy and the parliamentary system.’Thapa is challenging Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba for leadership of the party. But Deuba appears to be more intent on striking deals with Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal over the next prime minister, president, house speaker, and other constitutional appointees.Resounding criticism also came from other NC leaders like Bishwa Prakash Sharma and Shekhar Koirala, as well as newly-elected young MP Pradip Paudel. Party leaders have said that the party was not consulted before the ordinance was introduced.This is not the first time Deuba has used an ordinance to form a government during his fifth term as Prime Minister. In August 2021, he amended the Political Parties Act just so that his ally Madhav Kumar Nepal could form a new party and join his coalition.He repealed that amendment when it had served its purpose, and had come under widespread criticism from constitutional experts for blatant political expediency.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/back-to-the-future/">Back to the future</a>, Santa Gaha MagarThe reaction to this executive decision has been even more  negative, with the main opposition UML, the legal fraternity, security chiefs and civil society demanding that the government withdraw the ordinance forthwith.On Tuesday, the Supreme Court Bar Association added its voice to the condemnation of the move: ‘An ordinance to amend the law proposed by a caretaker government before the first session of the newly-elected parliament disregards the people’s mandate and makes a mockery out of the constitution, rule of law and the Supreme Court’s established recognition of criminal law.”Deuba’s decades-long grip over NC party leadership gives him a significant advantage over any other leader aspirant within the party, and he has tried to railroad the ordinance despite NC dissidents and the new independent RSP doing well in elections.The RSP’s newly-elected MP from Lalitpur-3, Toshima Karki said: “That the caretaker government can stoop so low to free criminals from jail just to stay in power shows their greed for power. This is against the rile of law and will spell disaster for the country.”Despite some support from within the NC and sympathy from the public, Gagan Thapa’s chances of winning parliamentary party leadership and becoming Prime Minister remain slim.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/in-with-the-new-out-with-some-of-the-old/">In with the new, out with (some of) the old</a>, Anita Bhetwal“I don’t see the old leaders trusting the newer generation with the leadership and handing over the reins at this point in time,” notes political analyst Indra Adhikari.She adds: “Our socio-political structure has historically favoured the elite which means that political access is limited, and power rarely changes hands.”However, the Proportional Representation (PR) candidates chosen by seven nationally-recognised parties are set to be certified as elected before preparations for parliamentary party elections. Parties have sent the finalised list to the Election Commission, which will forward them to the President.As much as the FPTP candidates reflected the political leadership’s disregard to field women and minority communities in direct elections, the PR list finalised by parties reflects the status-quo and nepotism of the established parties.The ordinance is proof that the caretaker government is determined to bend Constitution any which way to keep the coalition intact despite some of its members suffering huge losses in elections. Nepal’s traditional politicians, it seems, want to carry on doing what they have always done.Indeed, the PR list has almost entirely filled the 33% constitutional quota for female representation in parliament. Meanwhile, Dalit representation, without a similar constitutional requirement, remains low.Additionally, PR elected candidates include high-profile political figures— some of whom include Arzoo Rana Deuba— wife of PM Deuba, Manju Khand—wife of Home Minister Balkrishna Khand, as well as former Deputy Prime Minister Bimalendra Nidhi.Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-past-is-foretold-in-nepal-poll-results/">The past is foretold in Nepal poll results</a>, Shristi Karki

Shristi Karki

Government of the leaders, for the leaders, by the leaders

<figure><img width="1025" height="633" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100128/63bfd3129c7e80680e0d3047jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVE/BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>For the Nepali Congress (NC), it is beginning to look like winning the election was the easy part. It is getting more difficult to agree on a power sharing deal with coalition members who fared badly in the polls.Up for grabs is not just who gets to be minister in the next government, but also the positions of president, chief justice and other constitutional bodies.Nepalis who cast their votes for change are already dismayed that this is reeking like politics as usual, with familiar backroom wheeling dealing and horse-trading.  With 10,560,082 valid Proportional Representation (PR) votes counted, the UML came first  with over 2.8 million popular votes, while the NC got 2.7 million votes. The Maoists and the new Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) came third and fourth respectively with over 1.1 million votes each. The royal-right RPP, and the Tarai-based JSP and Janamat have also received enough votes to get PR seats. Only seven political parties will be recognised as national parties in the House, with coalition members CPN-Unified Socialists and LSP failing to cross the 3% vote threshold.  Since neither the coalition nor the opposition have a clear majority of 138 in Parliament, hectic negotiations on government formation and appointing constitutional heads have been going on.For now, the 4-party coalition that carried into both the local and general election seems to have held, but everything is up in the air, and no permutation or combination is being ruled out.On Monday, coalition leaders decided to keep the alliance, although there were grumblings from Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal that alliance partners did not ‘transfer’ votes to his party as they were supposed to. Smaller Tarai-based parties like the LSP, Nagarik Unmukti and Janamat are also negotiating with the coalition. This would give the coalition a total of 136 seats which is two seats short. There is still the possibility that the JSP, which was allied with the UML, will defect to the coalition.Although the alternative RSP has kept its options open, joining the reviled big parties would be against everything it has stood for. It is more likely that the JSP and the Janamat will be courted by the coalition.“CK Raut may take his Janamat into government because it would help him break into the mainstream which is something he has always wanted,” says political analyst Indra Adhikari. But amid discourse about party alliances and government formation, there are questions as to why it is difficult for parties to achieve a simple majority during elections. Most recently, in 2013, the NC and UML, which were the two largest parties in Parliament, formed an alliance after either party failed to obtain a majority in the polls. In 2017, UML and Maoist Centre merged after the election to become a large leftist alliance. “Our constitutional arrangement doesn’t allow for any one party to come into a majority,” adds Adhikari. “Since our socio-political structure has historically favoured the elite and the influence and political access is limited, power rarely changes hands.”Furthermore, she adds, the PR system which was supposed to reserve 40% of parliamentary seats for excluded groups lessens the possibility of any one party obtaining a majority.What the alternative RSP decides will be important, even as the rightwing RPP says it wants to stay in the opposition. The two parties may look different, but both have an anti-federalist stance. RSP leader Rabi Lamichhane refused to cast his ballot for the provincial assembly on 20 November.Arnico Panday told Nepali Times : “We got a lot of votes because people had high hopes that we would do something. Next time, we will get votes because we will have shown that we get things done.”Only nine out of 225 women who stood for direct elections won seats this time, slightly up from seven women during the last election. Bidya Bhattarai of UML was re-elected in Kaski -2, and young RSP candidates Sobita Gautam and Toshima Karki defeated popular mainstream candidates in Kathmandu-2 and Lalitpur-3. Remaining female MPs will be chosen through the PR closed list to fulfil the 33% parliamentary participation quota.Out of the 225 women, only 25 candidates were fielded by Nepal’s mainstream parties, lending credence to the fact that the political leadership tends to overlook women while fielding candidates for competitive positions. “Women are seen to be less capable in winning elections because they cannot raise campaign funding, do not have connections to big businesses or political contractors,” explains Adhikari.She adds: “Moreover, some of Nepal’s notable female politicians— who could win if they contested direct elections— would rather be elected through the PR system because that guarantees them a seat in parliament as opposed to the possibility of spending money and losing in direct elections.”For now, the coalition partners appear to have been spooked by the strong showing of the RSP and the poor performance of the Maoist and Unified Socialists. But it does not look like they have got the message of voters, or mended their ways. Prime Minister Deuba and Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal are already haggling over which of the two gets to be PM first under their secret pre-election seat-sharing deal.

Seats of power

The Chief Election Commissar is a busy hombre these days. With the intention of cracking down on violations of the election Code of Conduct, he is tied up firing off  letters demanding explanations from candidates found to be contravening guidelines. In fact, he has been so busy issuing clarifications that he has no time to enforce any of them.In order to help the EC to remind candidates and parties about the dos and don’ts of election campaigning, the Ass assists by recapping below some of the salient points of Clause 46(1) of the Election Commission Act:Don’t: Character assassination on social media is banned with immediate effect. Candidates are advised to also desist from actual assassination of rivals.Do: Under Nepal’s democratic system, mass murderers, plunderers, pillagers, rapists and those accused of other minor offences can campaign openly in broad daylight hours.Don’t: Candidates who have partaken meeting allowances in the past 40 years are barred from either standing or running in elections.Do: Those who have embezzled billions in airport contracts, telecom licenses or in inaugurating highways that never got built may hit the campaign trail along those same non-existent highways.Don’t: It has come to the EC’s notice that a certain candidate wore a baseball cap with his party’s election symbol during a rally in Gorkha-2. The Commissar has asked the candidate in question to furnish an appropriate clarification within 24 hours, failing which the aforementioned cap will be confiscated forthwith.Do: Candidates from the ruling 5-party collision, may be draped with 25 kg marigold garlands provided they are not allergic to pollen.Don’t: The EC takes umbrage at the #NoNotAgain campaign, saying the hashtag contains a double negative that could confuse voters.Do: Even so, established parties are allowed to embellish, exaggerate, falsify, fake, tamper, or lie about their achievements during the last 30 years in office on Facebook and TikTok as long as the jingle has a catchy tune. To set an example, the EC posted on YouTube a melodious song composed by its own talented storekeeper exhorting Nepalis to vote.Don’t: Candidates are not allowed to have stickers with party symbols at the back of the cars that they have hired from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.Do: But the Firstest Lady is allowed to threaten voters to cast ballots only for a Better Half who flies in on a helicopter.Don’t: Candidates found ringing temple bells will be given a stern warning about noise pollution. If they insist on ringing out the old and ring in the new, they will be rusticated on the spot. Playing madal or other traditional percussion instruments is in contravention of the Election Code of Conduct Article (13), Clause (1) and Sub-clause (d).Do: Parties are allowed to use fleets of Boleros to blare their anthems through loudspeakers. The Co-Finance Minister can take part in a Tharu Peacock Dance even if he is making an ass of himself.

The Ass

Election dos and don’ts

In the black and white photograph, General Wangdu smiles broadly in front of the dusty cactus garden in Kathmandu’s Annapurna Hotel. With an ill-fitting jacket and shaggy hair he looks benign enough, but this was the last leader of the Tibetan freedom fighters who led the resistance against the Chinese from their remote mountain hideouts in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/comings-and-goings-in-mustang">Mustang</a>. Five months later, Wangdu was dead. Snapped in March 1974, I had only recently arrived in Nepal. How did I meet this legendary fighter? Possibly with his devoted camp follower, Lynne Klapecki, and probably in the Om Restaurant near Freak Street which was the preferred <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/hippie-trail-nostalgia-in-kathmandu">hippie hang-out</a>. Om Lobsang and his brother Yeshe were <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/earthquake-brings-back-memories-of-camps-for-tibetan-refugees">refugees from East Tibet </a>whose cafe offered a friendly welcome and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/momo-loco"> the best momos</a> - they became my in-laws after I married their eldest brother Tenzin, but that was a decade later.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1583" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Photo: LISA CHOEGYAL</figcaption> </figure>  Wangdu’s English was enthusiastically rudimentary, but even riding around town with him on the back of an aging <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-new-motorbike-museum">motorbike</a>, he was a commanding presence. Always flanked by armed outriders, impressive scars marked his forearms and a pistol hung from the cord around his neck. A charismatic guerrilla leader, Wangdu was celebrated by his followers for his tough commitment and respected for his measured pragmatism. He seemed so young to have shouldered such a responsibility of command, leading hundreds of hardened <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/50-years-after-the%20raid-into-Tibet,1012#google_vignette">Khampa combatants </a>through what had been a particularly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/heavy-snowfall-over-nepal-himalaya">brutal winter in Mustang</a>, the last bastion to hold out against the Chinese invasion of their Tibetan homeland.&nbsp; The freedom fighters of Tibet, known as the Chushi-Gangdruk, had emerged to resist the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/territorialism">Chinese takeover</a> of Tibet during the 1950s. Estimated to be 80,000-strong at the time of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-or-who-after-the-dalai-lama">the Dalai Lama</a>’s final escape to India in 1959, the sheer number of Chinese deployed into Tibet eventually forced the Chushi-Gangdruk to retreat to Mustang, From this high Himalayan stronghold, they continued cross-border raids on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) throughout the 1960s.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="676" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Guerrillas known as the Chushi-Gangdruk emerged to resist the Chinese annexation of Tibet during the 1950s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>  Their Kathmandu base was a small discreet lodge in a back lane near Rani Pokhari. Sipping sweet tea from a blue mug with a chipped lid, I sat bemused in a corner of the Mustang Hotel room whilst Wangdu and his cohorts received a battered brown suitcase from their CIA connection, a tousle-haired American in a leather jacket. Heaved onto the dingy bedspread that covered the thin mattress, it was clicked open to reveal piles of neatly stacked dollar bills.&nbsp; I cannot think why Wangdu allowed me to witness this handover but I was clearly no threat, a newly arrived world traveller with no understanding of the stakes nor any Nepali or <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/tibetan-music-in-nepals-sacred-valley">Tibetan language</a>. Despite armed guards in the corridor,Wangdu radiated confidence and bravado, and there was a practiced familiarity to the tense transaction. This deadly dance for many years had been funded by the Americans, tolerated by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-kingdom-within-a-republic">Mustang’s residents</a>, and permitted by King Mahendra and the Nepali authorities who it suited to turn a blind eye.&nbsp; But Mahendra died in 1972, and times were changing. Richard Nixon’s ping-pong diplomacy thawed the cold war and signalled a fresh entente with China. Nepal’s yet-to-be-crowned <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-could-still-be-a-monarchy">King Birendra </a>was under pressure to curb the irritating incursions against the PLA launched from the Nepali territory of Mustang. Keen to appease his northern neighbour, on several occasions the King summoned Wangdu for peace talks but, despite increasingly overwhelming odds, Wangdu refused to surrender.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1055" height="885" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>General Wangdu flanked by two Tibetan resistance fighters in Mustang in the 1970s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31" data-rendition-name="original" width="1044" height="792" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>King Birendra with General Wangdu (right in dark glasses) taken in 1974 possibly in Mustang after one of their few attempts at negotiation. Photo courtesy: RAJRNDRA KUNWAR</figcaption> </figure>  While I naively rode pillion around Kathmandu in the spring sunshine, Wangdu was in the midst of what turned out to be his final round of negotiations with the Nepal government. Refusing to cease hostilities with the Chinese, Wangdu must have suspected the cost of his decision, making his cheerful smile in the photograph all the more poignant and brave. It was only much later that I appreciated the significance of the moment. Wangdu had been sent to replace the first resistance leader in Mustang, Baba Gen Yeshe, a much derided corrupt character who stole money meant for his troops and exploited fleeing refugees by seizing their treasures. Baba Gen Yeshe never forgave Wangdu,and sought revenge in May 1974 by betraying him and his commanders to the Nepal authorities. Renewed Chinese incursions from the north, active PLA collusion with the Nepali forces under the new King, and treachery from within the Chushi-Gangdrukranks combined to seal their fate.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1400" height="769" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>British television journalists George Patterson and Adrian Cowell embedded themselves with Khampa guerrillas and accompanied them from Tsum Valley on a cross border raid on a Chinese Army convoy in 1964. Photo: ESSAYS ON NEPAL / SAM COWAN</figcaption> </figure>  Mikel Dunham, renowned author of Buddha’s Warriors, writes: ‘It is possible that Wangdu was waiting for some cue from the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. It is equally possible – during that last, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-human-cost-of-nepal-s-yarsa-gold-rush?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR31-Cqw8oyIwMPzf_35e4Skr0ululJvLf3_vDkzHn-AYG2h8uPw2rqqErg_aem_tGVn5coY1-jA7fze_xqhew">desolate winter </a>– that he made the decision to go out in glory rather than admit defeat. Over the last fifteen years, Wangdu had experienced Tibet’s organized resistance being squeezed and shoved around by every conceivable outside force.&nbsp; First they had been pushed out of their own country by the PLA; then they had been refused sanction while on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-india-trans-boundary-bonds?fbclid=IwAR0PpJ5zUEbwdug3g_U3ar6FUugngRY0S8Tl2v_7wqzrsHmXWcXsKjvL4t4">Indian soil</a>; then they were abandoned by the Americans because, apparently, Nixon wanted to make friends with Wangdu’s mortal enemies, the communists; then they had been betrayed by the vampiric Baba Gen Yeshe – a Tibetan and, even worse, a fellow Khampa; and now, finally Wangdu’s army was being evicted by the Nepalis. One thing was certain: Wangdu was a warrior. To imagine Wangdu simply giving up and settling down in the pacific squalor of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/elderly-left-in-bhutan-refugee-camp">refugee camp </a>was unthinkable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49.jpg" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="746" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>The much derided Baba Gen Yeshe, the first Tibetan resistance leader in Mustang, who betrayed Wangdu for personal gain. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="656" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Aditya SJB Rana of the Royal Nepal Army whose team ambushed Wangdu and his cohorts at the top of Tinker Pass in Darchula, West Nepal. Photo courtesy: GAUTAM SJB RANA</figcaption> </figure>  By August 1974 the game was up. Wangdu and six of his exhausted party were killed on their horses by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7270">the Royal Nepal Army</a> on the brink of escape. The officer in charge, Aditya SJB Rana, cleverly predicted their route into India after they failed to silence a police radio in Yari. A carefully laid ambush trapped them near the summit of the Tinker Pass in Darchula,at 5,000 meters the highest military operation of its time. Wangdu’s body was helicoptered to Kathmandu, and a big show made of the royal Nepal victory.&nbsp; The Tibetan armed insurgency against China had reached its end.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_23" data-image-id="20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> </figure>

The Last Days of the Khampa

Starting 17 September Turkish Airlines will fly daily to Seville, one of Spain’s major tourist draws. This is Turkish’s sixth destination in Spain after Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, and Bilbao. Seville is in the Andalusia region on Spain’s south coast with a rich Moor history. There are approximately 30,000 Nepalis living in Spain.&nbsp;

Turkish to Seville

The newly-formed Himalayan Art Council is set to launch Nepal’s National Art Protection Platform that seeks to preserve <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage">Nepal’s unique cultural heritage </a>using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/artificial-censorship"> AI-powered tools</a>. The Council seeks to safeguard <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-art-going-places">Nepali art works</a> from neglect, theft and counterfeiting as well as preserve existing artwork and celebrate living masters by giving them a cultural space to continue the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">sacred art traditions</a>. "We are introducing a new digital platform designed to preserve, verify and elevate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-new-generation-of-alternative-artists">Nepal’s art for generations to come,</a>” says a statement from the Council, adding that the digital platform will use AI told for authentication and blockchain to keep track of works of art. Artists can now be protected by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/ayo-ai?fbclid=IwAR1uwmTVq4gUB70ljfRezjzukD9ArWXPuMnUikopeQ8PoiZMjicToPSwhKE&amp;=1">AI tools</a> that detect forgeries, identify their work even when unsigned, and ensure they receive proper recognition and credit. The archives will be searchable with translated inscription and interactive guides. Says curator Meena Lama: “AI and blockchains are tools that give us the power to detect fakes and identify unsigned paintings and track every piece. With these tools we can restore trust, secure authorship and give artists the dignity they deserve.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum."> <figcaption>Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  The Council is also holding an exhibition of Nepali cultural masterpieces with 50 historical <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671">thangka and paubha </a>by past masters and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">contemporary works by current artists</a>. This curated collection is a living tribute to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">Himalayan culture</a> with economic depictions of deities, mandala and sacred narratives. The exhibition at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-portal-into-patan-s-past-and-present">Patan Museum</a> also provides an opportunity to meet painters and custodians of art and culture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/golden-deities">Golden deities</a>, Sewa Bhattarai ‘The exhibition is only the first step in a long journey to ensure that Nepali art is no just seen but fully understood, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Narratives-of-Faith-and-Memory-Remembering-the-Lost-Sculptures-of-Kathmandu-exhibition,987">protected and remembered</a>,’ the Council says. Artist Kailash K Shrestha of Artudio has spent decades promoting thankha and paubha traditions because of their beauty and devotional meaning. But he also says artists are underpaid, exploited and ignored. He adds, “AI and blockchain are not just buzzwords, they are powerful tools that can protect Nepal’s artists from fraud, verify authenticity and build a permanent record of provenance.” Traditional Art Exhibition Till 17 May Patan Museum

Digital protection for Nepal’s art

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/prabalgurung/" target="_blank">Prabal Gurung</a> left Nepal for New York in 1999 to escape years of bullying, sexism and homophobia, and to pursue his dream of becoming a fashion designer. He <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqN0VaoAI5w" target="_blank">realised his dream</a>, but did not escape discrimination and racism in the new world. Propelled by passion for fashion, Gurung overcame everything America threw at him. He has attained <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/prabal-gurung-recalls-his-first-met-gala-when-zoe-saldana-was-at-his-side?srsltid=AfmBOooy-H0oGgxMit864FnW_Pmw8mUnV8rYrh-co-f6OyYK6m2ip5hP" target="_blank">fame and recognition</a> for his haute couture dress designs while remaining true to his Nepali roots, and is even more resolute in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSmNauyzACk" target="_blank">fighting prejudice</a> in all its forms. Prabal Gurung’s newly-released memoir <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Walk-Like-Girl-Memoir/dp/B0DG11HCDQ?fbclid=IwY2xjawKZfpxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHuZcIJO2OXyXcRm1oq1iG6wzeoF7VJFrQ7GXOFI0YxuZZ4id_CNvSZSZZIna_aem_pG_mOKG73RTnYvN8JaC4fA">Walk Like a Girl</a> is a saga of harrowing abuse in boarding schools in Nepal and India, only finding himself facing a different kind of bullying in the US. He prevails over it all to be where he is today: an award-winning American fashion designer with his own label. Walk Like a Girl was launched last week in New York at a time when everything Gurung fought for — tolerance, inclusion and diversity — are in retreat in his adopted country because of a president who has espoused a culture of bullying. The book is a searing, raw exposé of how cruel and abusive people can be even at a young age in school. On the other hand, it also shows that there are generous, compassionate and open-minded souls out there. In his book, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4le_uWX7YE">Prabal Gurung</a> calls out those who tormented and tried to hold him back (some of their names have been altered). The moral of his story is: resist, never stop believing in yourself, do not let others define you, never lose sight of your dream, and help those who have been kept out. “Walk like a girl” was a slur used by bullies back in school in Nepal and India for Gurung’s effeminate ways. He fought back then, and he is still resisting by turning those words into something to be proud of.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170544_4ffc9c3f565dd2cfa754d10b224816897b82bb31ebaee91b6d79d469fc96f14e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250519170544_4ffc9c3f565dd2cfa754d10b224816897b82bb31ebaee91b6d79d469fc96f14e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1253" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung NT"> <figcaption>Prabal Gurung at home in Kathmandu in the 1990s.</figcaption> </figure>  “Living through it all was one thing, but writing about it is one of the hardest things I have done in my life,” admitted Gurung during the launch. “I broke down constantly during the six-year writing process.” He continues: “I did not want this to be a victim’s book. I did not want to burden my readers with my emotions. I wanted my struggle to be an inspiration for others facing what I faced. I am grateful to those who bullied me in school, they made me a stronger person ready to face the world.” Indeed, this book is a departure from his earlier one titled simply, Prabal Gurung (Abrams, 2019), which was a lush pictorial autobiography of his career in fashion. Walk Like a Girl is not a typical fashion book, it is an intimate tale of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16997">Gurung’s travails and triumphs</a>, and how he willed himself to succeed. Prabal pays a lavish tribute to his mother Durga Rana. We find out she is a descendant of the first wife of the eldest son of Jang Bahadur Rana who was banished to Palpa in the late 19th century. Prabal’s father served in the Singapore Police and that is where he was born before the family returned to Nepal when he was four. Gurung relates with brutal honesty about the violence his mother endured from his father. Durga raises three children as a single mother in Nepal, and Prabal credits her for his fierce determination to resist patriarchy and injustice, which in time manifests itself in his hyper-feminine and subversive dress designs. Writing the book has been a cathartic experience for Gurung, who says he is now relieved of the burdens of his past. It no longer haunts him, and he does not have to prove anything to anyone anymore. Walk Like a Girl has life lessons not just for the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DJmOcSgxdWz/" target="_blank">fashion industry</a>, but for every other profession. How can my job serve a greater cause? Gurung tells us his work is <a href="https://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/why-designer-prabal-gurung-doesnt-want-just-stick-fashion" target="_blank">bigger than just making clothes</a>, it is about making the world a better place because it could do with a lot of improvement.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170544_d75296ad8bfdc00d88935f40d23543c6fea3d4d6a10e61a99d6cfc6127f2ee5b.png" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250519170544_d75296ad8bfdc00d88935f40d23543c6fea3d4d6a10e61a99d6cfc6127f2ee5b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1516" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung"> </figure>  This story of chasing the American dream may sound familiar to many immigrants: knocking on doors for jobs, rejections, trying to survive from day to day on expensive rent, and dealing with subtle racism in white America. Gurung finds racism is rife, and he is often mockingly called ‘gaysian’. He writes: ‘There was a strong hypocrisy — this idea of independence felt like a marketting ruse … and for all the talk of feminism in America, these high society women were trapped by the patriarchy just like in Nepal and India.’ After a trek to the Khumbu region in 2013, Gurung is inspired to use the colours, palette and textures of Nepal for his collection exhibited on Manhattan’s 8th Avenue. A major buyer tells him bluntly: “Stick to making pretty dresses … if I need to see a collection like this, I could buy a copy of National Geographic.” The New York Times was equally dismissive: ‘The designer tries to draw connections between blistered techo-fabric used to construct it and the topography of his homeland, Nepal. But, at the moment, he has lost his map.’ One potential investor tells Gurung he cannot design for Americana because “you do not look American”. Gurung wants to use expletives, but restrains himself. After a fundraiser in New York for the Nepal earthquake in 2015, some belittled his effort, saying: “Here comes the saviour."&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/prabal-gurung-by-prabal-gurung">Prabal Gurung by Prabal Gurung</a>, Kunda Dixit The Gurkha DNA must be dominant in Prabal Gurung’s genes because he does not take such mistreatment lying down. When asked by a fashion publicist why he was designing clothes for fat people, he snaps back: “Because of people like you.” He joins the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, launches the Shikshya Foundation charity in Nepal, and has powerful allies among celebrities who wear clothes he designed: Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Sara Jessica Parker, Kamala Harris, Deepika Padukone … it is a long list.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519150556_48a5f4211991a23fa85b64bbd5377575ca7081d97309d7542035591dda5180fe.png" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250519150556_48a5f4211991a23fa85b64bbd5377575ca7081d97309d7542035591dda5180fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="1534" loading="lazy" alt="Being Prabal Gurung by design"> <figcaption>Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wearing Atelier Prabal Gurung’s design for Met Gala 2025 in which the theme was ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’. </figcaption> </figure>  “I don’t dress women to look beautiful, they already are,” Gurung says. “I try to bring out their innate strength and grace.” <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17908766880140171/" target="_blank">Admirers</a> tell Gurung he makes it all look so easy, but he used to put up a strong facade to not show his own vulnerabilities in public. “I was closed because of my childhood experiences,” he says. “I was always on guard to defend myself because I never knew where the next punch would come from.” But in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPVepzPA210" target="_blank">Walk Like a Girl,</a> Gurung comes to terms with his vulnerability, and bares his soul. It has not been easy, it took sustained will power and support from his mother, sister Kumudini and a circle of close friends. “I made unbelonging my power,” he says. “Nepal is where I still have my heart and soul. Nepal grounds you. It is where people go to find themselves. But I escaped.” Recently appointed vice-chair of the <a href="https://cfda.com/about-cfda" target="_blank">Council of American Fashion Designers</a>, Gurung says: “I can’t believe I am here, it feels like it is happening to someone else. Writing this book, the healing has finally begun.” <h2>‘Everything is better in color’</h2> The Met Gala was two weeks later, and my table was an example of everything I’d been fighting for all these years as my guests represented everything I believed in: dynamic, powerful, influential women who were unapologetically original and unabashedly graceful. I was grateful to Anna for inviting me to host and dress a table that reflected my ethos—and for her guidance in doing so. I was also aware of the privilege as one of the first-­ever Asian fashion designers—not just from Nepal, but from the entire continent— to get the opportunity to do so. That fact was not lost on me. I reached out beyond the expected Hollywood celebrities and well-­known socialites to curate a table of exceptional women who inspired me. I invited Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt for their first-­ever Met Galas, as well as Michelle Yeoh, Mindy Kaling, Camila Cabello, Ashley Park, Denée Benton, KiKi Layne, Quannah Chasinghorse, and Grace Elizabeth. Together we checked many boxes: Asian, Black, Latinx, and Indigenous, each woman undeniably chic and powerful, a dazzling array of skin tones and experiences that proved my decades‑in‑the-­making hypothesis: everything is better in color. Excerpt from Walk Like a Girl Viking © 2025 by Prabal Gurung  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170520_6b91d560e9f072c37d16876901058c073a51ffa05e7ad1b9461d19e1c9c28215.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20250519170520_6b91d560e9f072c37d16876901058c073a51ffa05e7ad1b9461d19e1c9c28215" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung book details NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170520_345240c21be400e2ce2ec629b52bd82bb53890e5bd86fe95b48340d84b5f1748.jpg" data-media-id="editor_17" data-image-id="20250519170520_345240c21be400e2ce2ec629b52bd82bb53890e5bd86fe95b48340d84b5f1748" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung book details NT"> </figure>  &nbsp;

election-2022