<figure><img width="1000" height="716" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/6372049d9c7e80680e0b286fjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Image from a series by Chinese photographer Guligo Jia’s exhibition of ‘reunions’ of people with family members they lost in the war projected in the wall behind them. Here, Suman Adhikari is photographed with an old photograph of his father Muktinath Adhikari, himself and his brother. Photo: GULIGO JIA </figcaption></figure>My father Muktinath Adhikari was a science and math teacher at the Panini Sanskrit Secondary School in Duradanda in Lamjung district. I had just got into Grade 8 when my mother became ill.We had to take her to hospital in Kathmandu, carrying her in a doko. My father was so dedicated to his school that he did not come with us. It was not because he did not love her.<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=12522#.YeVp1S8RqLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D12522%23.YeVp1S8RqLc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642512806496000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0lOkM1Nl9In27odcK2tW9V">Both my brothers</a> were studying with me in Kathmandu at the time. One was in college and the other was preparing for his SLC exam. I had gone home to Lamjung for winter holidays with one of them.  <figure><img width="200" height="207" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/6372049f9c7e80680e0b2870jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>My mother had to go through two operations, and I pushed back my return to Kathmandu till 18 January 2002. My sister had also come home for the Maghe Sankranti festival. We were all home on 17 January when my grandfather and his brother came hurriedly to tell us that our father had been taken away by the Maoists.They said he was being taken for “interrogation”.He had been teaching his Grade 10 science class when a gun-wielding militia entered the room, tied a rope around his leg and led him off.We did not know what to do. On the one hand, we reasoned, our father had not done anything wrong, had not harmed anyone, so they would let him go. But we had also heard about Maoist executions and feared the worst.He had told his colleagues as was led away: “You see the situation. Whatever happens to me, manage the school well, do not damage the future of the students.” <figure><img width="1400" height="701" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637204a19c7e80680e0b2871jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="2070" height="1576" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637204a49c7e80680e0b2872jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>We had no news till evening. I followed my brother to look for our Dad. When we reached near the school, someone told us the news was not good, and there was no point looking for him. I had an inkling that something terrible had happened and that no one was telling us, and I returned home. My brother came back at 7PM, and told us that <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=17894#.YeVpZS8RqLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D17894%23.YeVpZS8RqLc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642512806496000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2N-_RLEZnLbI0cI4QoiUS2">our father had been killed</a>. They had taken him from the school, past our house, tied his neck to a tree with his muffler, and killed him. My family tried to shield my other brother from the news because he was preparing for his school exam. They did not allow him to even listen to the radio, but he found out anyway from my uncle who had gone to Kathmandu to fetch him. When he got home, the whole family went to the site of the crime. My mother, sister and I could not bear to look. I tried to force myself to at least catch a glimpse, but I could not. The photograph of my father’s <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16781#.YeVpYi8RqLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D16781%23.YeVpYi8RqLc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642512806496000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0aH2JvgxXsXBuNl3GQVhXh">lifeless body still tied to a tree</a> was on the cover of Himal magazine (pictured right) that week. The editor took a big risk by printing that photograph in the midst of war. Later, the picture was picked up by many other newspapers and spread through social media.Even after 20 years, I get the chills if I see that cover photograph. I cannot describe what my family went through. Our father was the sole source of support for the family. Despite his meagre earnings as a school teacher, he used to help others in the village who were in need. But when it was his family that needed support, no one stepped forward to help.In fact, they tormented us by their silence. No one spoke out. They were too afraid that they would also be killed by the Maoists. Before the murder, my aunt had told my father that many other teachers had fled the village because of threats from the Maoists and he should not put himself in danger. My father had replied: “I have never stolen one paisa from anyone, I have never wished anyone any harm, if I leave the school what will become of the future of my students?” <figure><img width="640" height="867" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637204a79c7e80680e0b2873jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>It later emerged that the Maoists had asked all teachers to donate 25% of their salary to the revolution. My father stood by his principle that donations should be voluntary, and besides he had to also take care of his family with his salary. He had told the Maoists he would consult the others and give his response, but they did not wait for his answer.We could not even remove the body, or observe funeral rites because of the fear of Maoists. My brothers conducted some rituals at home and returned to Kathmandu.I could not leave my mother alone during such a tragic period, and besides she was not well. I had to discontinue my education, but that was nothing compared to the trauma our family had to go through. We mustered the courage to lodge an FIR at the Lamjung District Police Office. <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Commissions-of-convenience,1530" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Commissions-of-convenience,1530&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642512806496000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2a5uINM9W70AtKb3zZ1Rk0">There are two Commissions</a> to provide justice to the families of the victims of conflict like us, we even went to the National Human Rights Commission.But even after two decades, there has been no justice. The perpetrators were never caught. If this is the condition of such a high profile war crime, imagine what it is like for others who are not as well known. How will the conflict victims in remote parts of the country ever hope for truth and justice?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPK1y8MSMHc&amp;feature=emb_logoThe Commission on Enforced Disappearances and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission are more interested in letting war criminals off the hook than in providing justice. The commissioners are selected on the basis of party wheeling-dealing, and it looks like their sole intention is to protect the perpetrators. And we hear that they want a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-runs-out-of-excuses-to-address-war-crimes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-runs-out-of-excuses-to-address-war-crimes/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642512806497000&amp;usg=AOvVaw12XhhNJcMJn9L4BGusBJzm">blanket amnesty for all war crimes</a> by both sides in the conflict. International norms say that whether a perpetrator of a crime is to be pardoned or not is solely at the discretion of the victim. Still, they address political rallies and blatantly boast that they killed 5,000 people and those who were responsible for conflict-era crimes are walking openly in broad daylight. My father, who had no connection at all to the Maoist insurgency, was killed by them. We lost our father. Nothing will bring him back. If his murderers are not caught there is a danger <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/history-on-replay/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/history-on-replay/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642512806497000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1SnZqMPw1s7CMEwi7T7g2L">there will be another conflict</a> like this, and there will be other orphans like us. That is why we are still fighting for justice. I just hope no one in Nepal in future has to bear the kind of physical and mental torture that we did as a family. Twenty years later, my father appears to me in my dreams sometimes. I am so happy to see him alive. But then I wake up, and weep. I wish my dream would never end. Translated from the <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/127861?fbclid=IwAR32w5E-Totbc63ZAnwgR13Lre3VnPxI8_Vt-uf4e8RFqC6ZncnVTwb6KXQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/127861?fbclid%3DIwAR32w5E-Totbc63ZAnwgR13Lre3VnPxI8_Vt-uf4e8RFqC6ZncnVTwb6KXQ&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642512806497000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2e4nzefESDuc7Xr6JVIQUS">Nepali original</a> in <a href="http://himalkhabar.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://himalkhabar.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642512806497000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0eWk9SdO610RJSKCHi_R-5">himalkhabar.com</a>

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Nepal’s unpunished war crimes

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151112/636bb5e29c7e80680e07bc2cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="549"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>On the sixth <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/dead-and-dying,3955" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">death anniversary of Nanda Prasad Adhikari</a> who was on a hunger strike demanding justice for his murdered son, his widow Ganga Maya has once more urged the government to prosecute the perpetrators.From her bed in the National Trauma Centre, where she was shifted after Bir Hospital was turned into an exclusive Covid-19 hospital, Ganga Maya has appealed to Nepal’s human rights groups and the international community to support her struggle for truth and justice.Ganga Maya and her husband started their hunger strike nine years ago, did not have solid food and were fed intravenously in hospital. She has continued with the struggle even after her husband <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/the-deadline/sad-saga-of-adhikari-family,367" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">died on the 334th day of his fast unto death</a>.His yet-to-be-cremated body in Box No 4 inside the morgue at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu is a stark reminder of Nepal’s failed transitional justice process.The couple’s son <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/when-our-son-was-killed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Krishna Prasad Adhikari was 17 when he was killed</a> on 4 June, 2004 when he went to visit his mother’s family just after finishing his SLC exam in Gorkha. A group of Maoists caught and tortured and killed him by stuffing him inside a sack and dragging him behind a motorcycle. They accused him of being a spy.His parents <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Just,451" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nanda Prasad and Ganga Maya came to Kathmandu</a> to protest when Baburam Bhattarai was prime minister in 2012. Police got them certified as ‘mad’ and dumped them in Gorkha.The couple lodged a complaint at the Chitwan District Police Office against Chhabilal Poudel, Januka Poudel, Meghnath Poudel, Bishnu Tiwari, Subhadra Tiwari, Sita Adhikari, Kali Prasad Adhikari, Himal Adhikari, Ram Prasad Adhikari, Bhimsen Poudel and Parashuram Poudel. But when no action was taken, they returned to Kathmandu and started a hunger strike outside Bir Hospital on 12 August 2013.On 3 September of the same year, the Supreme Court ordered the couple to be force-fed and to release the details of the investigation into the complaint. On 6 September, police arrested one of the accused, Ram Prasad Adhikari, but released him 22 days later.On 13 April 2014, Chhabilal Poudel and 13 others were charged with the murder of Krishna Prasad. However, four days later the Chitwan District Court ordered the release of Chhabilal on bail. On 19 June 2015, the then appellate court of Hetauda upheld the decision of the district court.After her husband's death, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/gangamaya-hunger-justice,4180" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ganga Maya continued her hunger strike alone</a>. On the 359th day, the government led by the then Prime Minister Sushil Koirala made a five-point commitment: to take the accused to court, take action even if accused were out of the country, pay for Ganga Maya's family's lifelong treatment and living expenses, provide security to Ganga Maya and her eldest son Nur Prasad and make necessary arrangements for Nanda Prasad's funeral.After the Hetauda Court upheld the Chitwan District Court's decision to release the defendants on bail, Ganga Maya filed an appeal against it in the Supreme Court on 28 June 2015. On 21 December of the same year, the Supreme Court ordered the judicial custody of Chhabilal Poudel.But when Chhabilal Poudel wasn't arrested, Ganga Maya went on a hunger strike in 2018 and on the 48th day, on 9 July 2018, Chhabilal was forced to surrender before the Supreme Court, and was sent to prison for trial.The Chitwan District Court acquitted all the accused except Rudra Acharya on 9 September. On 4 September 2019, Ganga Maya appealed against the district's decision in the Hetauda Bench of the Patan High Court, and on 11 November, the Hetauda Bench ordered the defendants to appear. However, no further hearing has been held since then.

Ganga Maya’s endless road to justice

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67a09c7e80680e0599e9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge has won the Conde Nast Traveler Best Ecolodge, National Geographic Global Top 50 EcoLodges and Conservation International's Ecotourism Award UK Sunday Times' top five cool pools</figcaption></figure>The guests were dressed with care as befits the end of an era. The New Year’s Eve atmosphere was buoyant but grave, with the usual eclectic Tiger Mountain mix. Old Asia-hands from Singapore and Thailand were gathered with Swiss family, British friends, Kathmandu expats, Tibetan cousins and Nepali hosts, all reflecting on the massive significance of the passing millennium. The grandeur of the Himalayan scenery matched our mood.It was 31 December 1999 and we were perched on a ridgetop above the Bijaypur Khola in Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge. Far beneath us, the lights of Pokhara Valley twinkled in the winter cold, and the soaring white peaks glowed pale in the moonlight. On the hillside opposite some farmers were razing their fields, and the fires spread out slowly until they formed the unmistakable shape of a giant burning cross.<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15828#.XgmPoFUzaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jim Edwards</a> leaned against the stone column beside the Lodge’s picture window. “Perhaps we should heed such a powerful symbol,” he said quietly. Despite the cosy warmth and the blazing central fireplace, a shiver went down my spine.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67a39c7e80680e0599eajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="902"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>There were a few things to worry about, not least the widespread concern that the digital world would come crashing down on the stroke of midnight, which had kept our diplomatic friends on high alert in their embassies. To no avail as it turned out, but the rumours had been rife and convincing.In Nepal, the brutal insurgency was rumbling with increasing vigour throughout the country. It would be another six years before peace was achieved, a time of such trauma that it is buried deep into a collective national amnesia. The horror of the royal massacre was 18 months ahead of us and, three months after that, the 9/11 terror tragedy of the twin towers which changed our world forever.Pokhara Lodge had been shaken with an evening raid by alleged insurgents that carried off not only the terrace telescope and some staff cameras, but the bulging contents of the end-of-season tip box, which seemed rather harsh given their declared ideology. The attack was the first of relatively few direct clashes with tourism during those deeply troubled times. No one was harmed, and even the resident guests were unalarmed, confusing the red bandanas, flags and brandished khukri knives as part of a cultural show.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67a69c7e80680e0599ebjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="921"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>On that millennial eve, Pokhara Lodge had been operating for just over a year. The trees and wild landscaping had yet to mature around the honey-coloured stone bungalows, hand-cut from a local quarry, clustered like a local village adjacent to our community forest neighbours. The swimming pool bamboos were still in their infancy, but the peaks were already mirrored in its shimmering blue surface on a breathless morning as eagles, vultures and kites wheeled overhead.<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/hillary-centenary/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sir Edmund Hillary</a> had done the inauguration honours, stooping stiffly to light the votive brass lamp on the broad slate veranda one clear October day, with expansive views of the Himalaya range stretching from Dhaulagiri to Manaslu. At various stages of construction, monks and priests had blessed the hilltop site, selected by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/hiking-with-jimmy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Colonel Jimmy</a> Roberts as the first campground on Prince Charles’ original Royal Trek in 1980.I had walked the first recce of that route for Mountain Travel with Pertemba Sherpa, a circuit now driveable down unappetising dusty rutted roads, because Colonel Jimmy’s hips were already failing him and his walking days were over. I stayed behind to manage the media that early December day 40 years ago, as the Prince of Wales strode uphill towards the silhouetted skyline tree that now bears his name, accompanied by Prince Dhirendra and a royal retinue. “The mountain views were ‘gin clear’ for all four days,” Colonel Jimmy noted in satisfaction.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67a99c7e80680e0599ecjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="860"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67ac9c7e80680e0599edjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="478" height="640"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>As we hurtle into another shiny new decade, pondering on what lies ahead, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-will-nepal-develop-in-the-next-decade/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hopes run high for a better prognosis</a> as we face the clean slate of the future. Our New Year resolutions this time can be more ambitious than the annual self-improvements destined to peter out by February.Nepal’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/decentralising-hydropower/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">full potential for generating hydropower</a> can happen, even as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/make-or-break-decade-for-climate-action/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">glaciers retreat and river levels drop</a>, the patient queues at hitis and water taps testament to a depleting water table. The realities of rail travel are still a dream away, victim to the overwhelming odds against running rails through the world’s highest, youngest and least stable mountain chain. But <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/designed-and-made-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">electric bikes</a> and cars are beginning to ply the Valley, and all sorts of innovative no-plastic and waste solutions are being trialled and adopted.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67ad9c7e80680e0599eejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="978" height="644"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The energy and opportunity of the much-awaited <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/make-sure-you-visit-nepal-in-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Nepal Year 2020</a> is upon us, with a plethora of creative events, new product ideas, and even an appreciation of the old and bold who have shaped tourism in the past. Hopefully, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/pokhara-nepals-new-aviation-gateway/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new international airports</a> around the country will improve our travel patterns, pushing tourists beyond the much-treaded Kathmandu-Pokhara-Chitwan triangle with new destinations that can deliver the delights of Nepali culture and adventure. Even as roads penetrate the heights and scar the hillsides, trekkers can disperse beyond the Everest-Annapurna-Langtang circuits, bringing benefits to the pristine and scarcely-visited sections east and west along the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/nepals-grand-trek-road/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Great Himalaya Trail</a>.At this <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-in-2030/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dawn of a new decade</a>, let us tune our ears to the rhythms of history, use the commitment of VNY2020 and push beyond the cliché: Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose. Seize the decade. A future awaits.

Lisa Choegyal

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Seize the coming decade

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813114/636a46529c7e80680e04d3d0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>'Comrade Pratista, 14, dances to the tune of a revolutionary song at a Maoist mass rally in Dang in 2001 during a Dasain ceasefire. Photo: TAKAAKI YAGISAWA/A PEOPLE WAR</figcaption></figure>Men and women in unisex combat fatigues dance energetically on stage. Their modernistic, martial moves would not look out of place in a tv reality show. But the lyrics tell a different story:It is time to sharpenthe shining khukri againThis YouTube video clip shows members of the Samana Cultural Group affiliated with the Biplav faction continuing where the mainstream Maoist party left off after the ceasefire in 2006.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vpqh0qAN72sSongs like these were hits during the insurgency, when Maoist propaganda units toured the country performing and mustering public support for the revolution. In many places, it worked.But even though Nepal has gone from war to peace, from <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/nepal-from-royal-to-republic,3736" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">monarchy to republic</a>, and many of the performers have either migrated for work overseas or turned to other professions, members of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/its-a-crime-not-to-call-it-terrorism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Biplav faction</a> are still singing to show that the revolution continues.The tradition of revolutionary songs did not begin with the Maoists. Ranudevi Adhikari, the first female voice on radio, sang songs against the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/the-rana-reign-a-recap-of-history,3751" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rana regime </a>that were broadcast from clandestine stations in 1949. One of them went:                Nepali, Nepali,                Let’s march forward                with the flag of revolution in our handsThe genre came to be known as janabadi, and the songs were revived during the Panchayat when four youngsters, Raamesh, Raayan, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3643#.XQtmIhYzaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Manjul </a>and Arim, established a group called Ralfa.“At the time, the only songs were about love, not about the harsh life of poor people,” remembers Raayan, who today heads the Nepal Academy of Music and Dance. “Our intention was to bring awareness and to change society through music.”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UMN8Sm9H-sThe group went on to create rousing songs like <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=868#.XQtmIxYzaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gaun Gaun Bata Utha</a> and Gariba ko Chameli, and toured Nepal singing songs protesting against the Panchayat regime and establishing the pragatishil genre, which shares many features with protest music worldwide.The lyrics mainly dealt with social inequities and injustice. The music was often martial and easy to repeat and understand because it was based on simple folk tunes. When performed as dances, the songs were deliberately non-sexual, featuring uniformed men and women.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm-NhAb2XRAThe tunes were instrumental in the success of the anti-Panchayat people’s movement of 1990 and the 2006 anti-monarchy protests. During the 1996-2006 insurgency, the messages focused on injustice and an exhortation to rise up and fight. There were krantikari (revolutionary) songs eulogising courage on the battlefield and mournful ones about martyrs.“The function of revolutionary songs was to recruit people to the revolutionary cause, and to rally the people,” recalls Mani Thapa (video below), who headed a Maoist cultural group. “They were relevant at a particular moment in history, and we don’t really sing such battle-ready songs anymore.”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UnxO2TAn_QMany of the songs are now lost because they were never recorded, but also because the cause dissipated after the war. Writer and music analyst Raman Ghimire believes this is the fate of all revolutionary songs: “They are associated with a particular ideology and are only relevant as long as the movement needs them. They are never going to be popular in the mainstream.”The Maoist party’s cultural wing attracted many talented lyricists, composers and singers, but it was later dismantled. “After the ceasefire we had intense debate about which way we should go, towards peace or towards another revolution (shanti ki kranti),” remembers Laxmi Gurung (video below) who joined the Maoists out of revenge after her leftist father was disappeared by state security and her husband killed. It is her voice in dozens of revolutionary songs, including Rana Maidan Ma, in which a line says, ‘the lives of brave warriors bloom in the battlefield’.https://youtu.be/zZRtHbEGuDYLaxmi Gurung (above) joined the Maoists after her father and husband were killed. She did vocals for dozens of revolutionary songs.“More bloodshed will not be good for the country,” says Gurung now, adding that it is hard to survive as a singer in peacetime. Other members of her troupe have chosen other paths  too. Mani Thapa became a politician, while Maila Lama (video below) who sang songs exhorting guerrillas to battle, has joined the Biplov faction.Pragati Mahara of the Maoist Pratirodh Cultural Group today sings songs about social ills and transformation. “The songs about battles are a part of history,” says Mahara. “Now that our revolution is over, we are more focused on the need of the day.”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfkOcWj7TJoMeanwhile, the original Ralfa generation is still active, perhaps more so than the Maoists who came after them. But even they have distanced themselves from politics. As head of a government institution, Raayan is focused on promoting Nepal’s folk art.Raamesh also shuns political affiliations, even though Ralfa’s songs were used by many political movements: first against the Panchayat, then by the Maoists, who saw them as precursors to their own revolutionary songs, and finally by political parties during the 2006 anti-monarchy protests.Raamesh is now more active as a children’s song creator. “We sing people’s songs, which speak up for the poor and disenfranchised. If anyone wants to use them for a good cause, they are welcome. But using it for vested political interests is a crime,” he says.Unlike Maoist songs, Ralfa’s numbers are evergreen because they speak of the larger causes of justice and equality. There is a lesson there in what makes a song endure, while others disappear.Jeevan Sharma, who established the Raktim Cultural Group, is among the few revolutionary singers who has gone mainstream. “The people always need a voice, and songs that speak truth to power. If they do that, songs do not need to be associated with any political party – they can have a life of their own.”Sharma’s own song of the life of the disenfranchised, Simali Chhaya ma Basera, has that long shelf-life.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Izb4dfqUt1ISince the Raktim Cultural Group was associated with the NCP Masaal led by Mohan Bikram Singh, Sharma’s songs were unofficially banned during the monarchy days and the composer himself was semi-underground during the Panchayat and the war years.Ironically the Maoists, who once promoted revolutionary songs, are today <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/creeping-control-over-the-press-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cracking down</a> on protest songs. Those who claimed to speak for people’s rights now try to ban songs like Pashupati Sharma’s Lutna Sake Loot.Raamesh himself is still writing songs, and his latest shows the fire has not gone out:                A great storm arose                To raise the fallen head of justice                Their deceitful face is now clear                Now we know they are regressive<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813114/636a46559c7e80680e04d3d1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="985"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><h2>Laxmi Gurung's wartime memories in pictures</h2><figure class="gallery-item"><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/laxmi-gurung-with-purna-gharti-another-revolutionary-artist.jpg" data-elementor-open-lightbox="default" data-elementor-lightbox-slideshow="55de498"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813114/636a46589c7e80680e04d3d2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="100" aria-describedby="gallery-1-28728"></a><figcaption id="gallery-1-28728" class="wp-caption-text gallery-caption">Laxmi Gurung with another revolutionary singer</figcaption></figure><figure class="gallery-item"><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/laxmi-gurung-with-sita-acharya-and-other-party-cadres.jpg" data-elementor-open-lightbox="default" data-elementor-lightbox-slideshow="55de498"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813114/636a465b9c7e80680e04d3d3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="108" aria-describedby="gallery-1-28729"></a><figcaption id="gallery-1-28729" class="wp-caption-text gallery-caption">laxmi gurung with Maoist singer Sita Acharya and other party cadres</figcaption></figure><figure class="gallery-item"><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/laxmi-gurung-is-welcomed-with-flowers-at-a-village-during-her-campaign-as-a-revolutionary-singer.jpg" data-elementor-open-lightbox="default" data-elementor-lightbox-slideshow="55de498"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813114/636a465f9c7e80680e04d3d4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="101" aria-describedby="gallery-1-28732"></a><figcaption id="gallery-1-28732" class="wp-caption-text gallery-caption">laxmi gurung is welcomed with flowers at a village</figcaption></figure><figure class="gallery-item"><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/laxmi-gurung-during-the-Maoist-era.jpg" data-elementor-open-lightbox="default" data-elementor-lightbox-slideshow="55de498"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813114/636a46629c7e80680e04d3d5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="101" aria-describedby="gallery-1-28733"></a><figcaption id="gallery-1-28733" class="wp-caption-text gallery-caption">Laxmi Gurung during her days as a member of Maoist Cultural troupe</figcaption></figure><figure class="gallery-item"><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/laxmi-gurung-with-maila-lama-a-revolutionary-artist-who-is-with-biplov-faction-today-1.jpg" data-elementor-open-lightbox="default" data-elementor-lightbox-slideshow="55de498"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813114/636a46669c7e80680e04d3d6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="97" aria-describedby="gallery-1-28734"></a><figcaption id="gallery-1-28734" class="wp-caption-text gallery-caption">laxmi Gurung with Maila Lama, a Maoist ]artist who is with Biplov faction today</figcaption></figure><figure class="gallery-item"><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/laxmi-gurung-with-sita-acharya-another-revolutionary-singer.jpg" data-elementor-open-lightbox="default" data-elementor-lightbox-slideshow="55de498"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813114/636a46689c7e80680e04d3d7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="103" aria-describedby="gallery-1-28730"></a><figcaption id="gallery-1-28730" class="wp-caption-text gallery-caption">Laxmi Gurung with Sita Acharya, a prominent member of Samana Cultural Group</figcaption></figure>Read also: <a style="text-indent: -15pt; background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/350/Nation/13572#.XQtlIBYzaUk">Voice of the party</a>, Govinda Luitel

Still dancing and singing for Nepal revolution

<img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110710114/6368cacd9c7e80680e02f336jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Himal Khabarpatrika 22-28 AprilInterview with civil society leader Devendra Raj Pandey on the 12th anniversary of the Democratic Movement in 2006. Himal Khabarpatrika: This week marks the triumph of the 2006 Democratic Movement. How do you recall those heady days?Devendra Raj Pandey: After 1990, people were growing frustrated with political parties and the Maoist insurgency was escalating. Yet, civil society was passive. The royal coup in 2005 gave us new energy, and we announced a civil movement for peace and democracy.Why was civil society passive? This is what happens when you have the desired political system, but the leaders do not deliver. Democracy was already restored in 1990, so we did not have to fight for it. We were disillusioned with elected leaders, but we could not ask them to step aside and let us govern the country.Why has civil society failed to create the kind of political order it envisioned? You can change the regime, but not the attitude of political leaders. After 1990 and 2006, our leaders considered money instead of people as their source of power. The general people or civil society were responsible because they stand united to overthrow authoritarian regimes, but are divided when political parties come to power. They never question the party they belong to.How has Nepal’s political course been after 2006?  Nepal was run by political cartels until recently, with a syndicate of top leaders taking all important decisions. And they were doing it not to serve the country but to cling on to power. The transition to federalism was long and bumpy, but we did not have the luxury to undo everything and start afresh. Even after three tiers of elections under the new Constitution, Madhesi, Janajati, women and Dalits have political grievances. But there is a sense of political stability, and I am hoping for new power dynamics within existing political parties and the emergence of a new political culture. <img width="456" height="410" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110710114/6368cad19c7e80680e02f337jpeg.jpg" alt="">Are you suspicious of the communist government?There is speculation that the communist government will curtail civil rights and impose authoritarianism. I do not think so. We cannot regress. Democracies are under attack, and populist ultra-rightists are emerging around the globe. Our democracy is in much better shape. The only problem is that our leaders never seem to retire or improve. A politician returns to power after 12 years, but his style and attitude does not change. It looks like I am pointing to NC President Deuba, but this is true right across the political spectrum.Has civil society been donor-driven? With financial assistance come political agendas. Soon after the restoration of democracy in 1990, the Soviet Union collapsed and several new nations were born. The Western powers invested heavily in transforming these new nations into democracies. That was when they began funding Nepal's civil society movement. If we allow them to decide our state structure, order and distribution of resources, it will be harmful to us.Why did civil society not intervene when the Maoists tried to push ethnic identity-based federalism? Civil society was polarised, too. While some supported the Maoist agenda, others tried to foil them. There was no space for neutrals like us.But none of you came up with ideas to reconcile ethno-centrism and regionalism.Who listens to ideas in Nepal? I personally believe that we must accept that the State has historically excluded Janajati, Dalit and women. If we make this acceptance a point of departure, we can negotiate to mainstream these excluded communities. But how can we even start a negotiation when you end the debate with: 'This country was created by Prithvi Narayan Shah'. A radical idea was countered by another radical idea, and there was no middle ground.How can grievances of Madhesis, Janajatis and women be addressed? They need a leadership that can articulate their voice and negotiate with the government. They do not have a leader at the moment. For example, Madhesis are being led by dishonest and opportunist leaders. It is easy for the government to coopt them. But what if Madhes explodes against its own so-called messiah? It is a responsibility of the government to foresee future crises and avert them through negotiations.What's next after the Constitution, elections and federalism?Creating three levels of government is real devolution, and the Centre should no longer try to retain the unitary system. Tax payers are concerned that the State will now have to pay for too many ministers and MPs. If our elected representatives want to address these concerns, they must renounce their sense of entitlement.The agenda of stability and prosperity seems to have struck a chord with the people?  I do not understand why we are suddenly after prosperity at a time when we have failed to deliver even development. The Prime Minister is making one grandiose promise after another. But where is the mechanism to realise these dreams. A few ministers have hit the ground running, but overall the system has not improved.

“Our leaders never retire”

Fenerbahçe Beko won the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague finals in Abu Dhabi, held 23-25 May, defeating Monaco 81-70 in the final. Olympiacos, who defeated Panathinaikos 97-93, finished the series in third place. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final match, Nigel Hayes-Davis from Fenerbahçe Beko, received a prize of 1,000,000 Miles&amp;Smiles from Turkish Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer Ahmet Olmuştur. The carrier has been the title sponsor of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, a top tier tournament, since 2010.

Turkish Basketball

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

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