<figure><img width="871" height="657" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111152/636cd82a9c7e80680e092e2ajpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Illustration: SUBHAS RAI/NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVES</figcaption></figure>There has been a lot of speculative analysis this week about the winners and losers in Nepal’s latest political upheaval, after the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-takes-1-step-forward-2-steps-back/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-takes-1-step-forward-2-steps-back/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1615441393580000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEBODxWrlYxavSW1mb4nTIQnSWhow">decision on 7 March by the Supreme Court</a> that annulled the unification of the incumbent Nepal Communist Party (NCP).
Ruling on a petition that the party name was already registered, the Bench went beyond what was demanded to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/no-winners-in-latest-nepal-political-twist/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/no-winners-in-latest-nepal-political-twist/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1615441393580000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFA9lKBadTPxClyS2Q2IZtbqCM4xQ">reinstate the NCP’s two constituent parties</a>: the UML led by K P Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s Maoist Centre.
Ever since 2018, the country has been forced to pay the price for the inability of these two leaders to overcome their oversized egos. Nepal’s policy-making and development ground to a halt as the party and government got mired in intrigue and back-stabbing between the triumvirate of Oli, Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal.
Then, the Covid-19 crisis struck and Singha Darbar was too distracted to launch an effective response in time. The leaders were busy at their residences in Baluwatar, Khumaltar and Balkot in back-room wheeling and dealing.
Increasingly isolated, and fighting a rear-guard action, Prime Minister Oli <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepalis-outraged-by-pm-oli-move/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepalis-outraged-by-pm-oli-move/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1615441393580000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGt3yu1ylZg8P2ZS692_FLF9owxOg">dissolved the Lower House </a>on 20 December just before the Dahal faction could register a no-confidence vote. When the Supreme Court restored the House on 23 February, there was great jubilation, with Dahal and Nepal <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/calm-before-another-storm-in-nepal/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/calm-before-another-storm-in-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1615441393580000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGZhGCDgiLR1lQwdpoErvODvGXB2A">feeding each other ladoo</a> in front of cheering cadre.
That celebration turned out to be premature because it looks like Oli had another trick up his sleeves. Sunday’s decision effectively dismantled the NCP and bifurcated it once more between the UML and the Maoists.  
If it is indeed true that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/you-stab-my-back-i-stab-yours/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/you-stab-my-back-i-stab-yours/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1615441393580000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFRWCGtRoTgwBYmPcNl98vgmLxzKA">Oli had masterminded this all along</a>, then he is even more of a schemer than we had given him credit for. That is not necessarily good for the rule of law since it means unacceptable executive interference in the judiciary. 
The general conclusion is that Oli had nothing left to lose, and was willing to dissolve Parliament and split the party to prevent his two nemeses from gaining control of the NCP chair and prime ministership — even if it meant sacrificing his leadership of government.
As someone said this week, Oli is playing chess and Dahal is playing checkers. The coming weeks will show how the party <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/parliamentary-arithmetics/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/parliamentary-arithmetics/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1615441393580000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEMqxOiytnWcq053Om0OMguoEYsbg">numbers in Parliament</a> will play out in the formation of the next government. Both the UML and the Maoists are now courting the Nepali Congress (NC) and the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) to obtain the total 135 in the current 270-member Lower House.
The UML with 121 MPs will just need the NC’s 63 seats to cobble together a coalition, whereas the Maoists with 53 members will require both the NC and the JSP’s 34 to do so. All week, the two parties have been wooing the NC’s Sher Bahadur Deuba and JSP leaders, with Dahal more interested for now in unseating Oli in a no-confidence vote than in forming a government. 
All this takes us back to the bad old days of cyclical coalitions of the late 1990s and the early 2010s when the functions of government were paralysed by short-term politicking — exactly the kind of instability the 2015 Constitution was supposed to put a stop to.
Hopes that the unification of the NCP in 2018 would bring stability and put Nepal on the track to growth have also been dashed. The country has now gone back three years. To be sure, the UML and the Maoists had never really united and it remained ideologically polarised between जबज and जन युद्द (People’s Multiparty Democracy vs People’s War). 
True to the dictum that a Communist party regards the faction immediately to the right of it as a greater enemy than an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/opium-of-the-masters/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/opium-of-the-masters/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1615441393580000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEiijHAUvZnOZmG1U2FJJ6N32uHKQ">extreme rightwing party</a>, both factions distrusted each other more than the NC. As he got more cornered, Oli was openly <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/k-p-oli-rams-it-home/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/k-p-oli-rams-it-home/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1615441393580000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFP8QkFGqrRmuWQmzNc_ChN1DxqIA">flirting with the Hindu right</a>.
The question now is which serial prime minister will be the new prime minister. Not that it matters much, these are all tried, tested and failed leaders who have had multiple chances in the past decades to prove their statesmanship.
The best-case scenario would be if the current political crisis could be turned into an opportunity by the four main parties to skip a generation and elevate a new crop of untainted younger leaders with fresh blood and energy. 
But that may be wishful thinking. We are once more seriously underestimating the egos and ambition of these superannuated septuagenarians.

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It’s broke, fix it

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccd149c7e80680e08bc58jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Prime Minister K P Oli visited Singha Darbar in nearly a year when he inaugurated the earthquake-damaged secretariat building on 15 February. Most of his Cabinet colleagues are also AWOL, and busy planning pro-Oli political rallies.</figcaption></figure>When Prime Minister K P Oli set foot in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/inside-story-of-nepals-rana-dynasty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Singha Darbar</a> on 15 February to inaugurate the Cabinet office rebuilt after the earthquake, it had been nearly a year since he had been to the seat of government.In the courtyard of the palace first <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/inside-story-of-nepals-rana-dynasty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">built by Chandra Shumshere Rana 100 years ago</a>, he gave a two-hour speech highlighting his government’s achievements. Then he quickly drove back to his residence in Baluwatar.Ostensibly, the prime minister stopped working out of his secretariat at Singha Darbar because his second <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/prime-ministers-health-condition-under-wraps/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">kidney transplant</a> in March 2020 made him vulnerable to coronavirus infection.He did visit Singha Darbar briefly in April last year when he addressed the Non-Aligned Movement Conference from the Action Room of his office.But ever since he <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/i-had-no-other-option-pm-oli/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dissolved the Lower House</a> on 20 December and announced snap polls for April and May, Prime Minister Oli has been behaving as if he is on the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/a-kathmandu-spring/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">election campaign trail</a>. His public appearances have been limited to addressing street rallies, where he has lashed out at estranged Nepali Communist Party (NCP) co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal.It is not just the prime minister who is AWOL from Singha Darbar. His Cabinet ministers also seem busy moonlighting. Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel, Minister of Industry Lekhraj Bhatta, Energy Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, Education Minister Krishna Gopal Shrestha, and Law Minister Lilanath Shrestha have all been busy with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/muscle-vs-muscle-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">firefighting within the NCP</a>’s instead of attending to the country’s problems.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccd189c7e80680e08bc59jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="875"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>A secretary at Singha Darbar admitted to Nepali Times that ministers are rarely available for meetings at their ministries because they are too busy defending Oli from his <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/oli-vs-dahal-1-upmanship/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rivals in the NCP</a>.“Prioritising internal party matters and a lack of government accountability poses a serious challenge to effective and impactful governance,” says former government secretary Khemraj Nepal.The half-yearly review of the current budget released by the Ministry of Finance last week shows that only 14% of the capital expenditure allocated by the government for development (Rs50.8 billion out of Rs353 billion) had been spent as of December. This is less than what was spent during the first six months of the previous year.Most development projects have also not met their spending targets. Figures show only Rs14 billion out of the Rs92 billion allocated to speed up the construction of 25 infrastructure projects had been utilised. Indeed, the Action Room set up at the Prime Minister's Office in Singha Darbar to accelerate national pride projects has not seen much action in Oli’s absence.This means an economy already stagnant due to the pandemic is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/instability-to-cost-nepal-dear-in-2021/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lagging behind in recovery</a> because development projects are languishing due to government indifference.Oli had pledged Rs300 million from government coffers to add a golden सुनको जलहरी pendant at Pashupatinath during his controversial visit to the temple in January. His decision, an impulsive response to the request by the Pashupati Area Development Fund, was made without prior discussion with advisers.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccd1c9c7e80680e08bc5ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>This is perhaps one of the few activities of the government that is actually being fast-tracked so the inner sanctum of the temple has the expensive gold pendant in time for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/maha-shivaratri/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Shivaratri</a> on 11 March.Pashupati was not the first time Oli dropped a surprise. A former secretary says the prime minister’s habit of making ad hoc spur of the moment decisions from Baluwatar without consulting experts is wasteful. Only Oli’s adviser and confidante Bishnu Rimal is said to have the prime minister’s ear on most matters.Giriraj Mani Pokhrel, a former minister in the Oli administration, recalls many such impulsive decisions at Cabinet meetings that went against the government’s own strategy.Even former Finance Minister Yuvraj Khatiwada, a workaholic who prefers to keep strict office hours, has criticised the ‘out-of-office’ culture of the prime minister and his Cabinet colleagues.Another senior government official told Nepali Times said the state machinery was in complete disarray due to the prime minister’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/zero-sum-game-for-nepals-ruling-communists/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lackadaisical attitude towards governance</a>. Not only has Oli been out of touch with his ministers, but the ministers are also not discussing important issues with their secretaries, thus disrupting the entire chain of communication within Singha Darbar."Because the PMO in Baluwatar functions as a parallel seat of government, morale is very low in Singha Darbar,” the official says.Former Finance Secretary Shantaraj Subedi says ministers have the responsibility of carrying through the government’s programs, managing the budget and making policy decisions. "If the minister does not show up, and does not take his work seriously, there will be no result,” Subedi says.Most ministers these days do not even bother to come to Singha Darbar. They either work from their residences, or are attending <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/back-in-the-streets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">political rallies</a> in support of the prime minister, or planning them with their cronies.

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Nepal's empty corridors of power

<img width="675" height="849" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191116/636bee754b0ad905ca02ef48jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>It was a hazy winter afternoon  when without warning at exactly 1PM, soldiers appeared on the streets of Kathmandu. Singha Darbar was cordoned off. Politicians, including Prime Minister B P Koirala who had been elected a year-and-half previously, were picked up simultaneously from their homes or offices, and hauled off to prison.   On Tuesday, 15 December it will be exactly 60 years since that fateful day which would determine the course of Nepal’s history for decades. King Mahendra and Prime Minister BP Koirala met at the palace for dinner a few days before the putsch. The King had just returned from a four-month trip to Japan, the United States and UK, and top secret plans were already in place for the coup d'état. Years later, Koirala related how towards the end of that meal, Mahendra (wearing trademark shades even though it was dark inside the room) gestured to Queen Ratna to leave and told him: “There cannot be two lions in a cage.”BP writes in his memoir that he had a ‘love hate’ relationship with Mahendra, who appreciated his work ethic, but was increasingly jealous of his popularity. The King’s aversion to political parties was well known, zamindars hated BP’s new land reform bill, and Mahendra sensed that Nehru’s India and Mao’s China, for different reasons, could live with a coup, as long as it did not make Nepal unstable.So, on पुस १, २०१७ (first day of the month of Pous 2017) the King made his move. In a speech he accused the Nepali Congress government of “failure to maintain law and order, being anti-national, corrupt and unaccountable”. The Swiss Ambassador was visiting Kathmandu from New Delhi on 15 December, and wrote a long cable to Berne about how BP Koirala had earlier talked about the difficulty of maintaining Nepal’s neutrality amidst Cold War tensions.US Ambassador Henry E Stebbins had met King Mahendra on 9 December in which he was given no hints of what he was planning, even though preparations must have been at an advanced stage. After the coup, Stebbins wrote to President Eisenhower: ‘…we feel that the King’s motives in taking the precipitate action he did were guided less by the issues of corruption and Communism than by a growing fear that his own personal position and prestige were dwindling and that if he did not act soon, it might be too late . . . the real motive behind the move was the preservation of the monarchy and the Shah dynasty in its absolute form.’However, just as Mahendra reckoned, Nepal’s two giant neighbours went along. China’s annexation of Tibet had spooked the Indians and Americans, and the British were focused on continued Gurkha recruitment. In fact, Queen Elizabeth was in Kathmandu on a royal visit within two months of the coup, and even went tiger hunting in Chitwan. History repeats itself repeatedly in Nepal. In 2005, King Gyanendra staged a carbon copy royal-military coup. Like his father and Stebbins, Gyanendra hoodwinked British Ambassador Keith Bloomfield into thinking that a coup was the last thing on his mind. Gyanendra’s speech on 1 February 2005 was identical to Mahendra’s in 1960. The son followed his father’s footsteps. On the 60th anniversary of पुस १ Nepal comes another full circle as supporters of a return to a Hindu monarchy exploit the political disarray, infighting, governance failure and corruption, to march on the streets demanding the secular republican constitution be scrapped. Some of the geopolitical dynamics of the Cold War in 1960 are also playing out again as Washington and New Delhi align against Beijing. Hindutva politics  in India may also be pushing the pendulum back to the right in Nepal. Tune in to Tom Robertson's article on Nepali Times Weekend Longreads on Saturday 12 December with declassified papers with new revelations about the US response to King Mahendra's coup.

Kunda Dixit

‘Putsch Ek’

<img width="675" height="849" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181144/636be7739c7e80680e0877ffjpeg.jpg" alt=""/>It was a hazy winter afternoon  when without warning at exactly 1PM, soldiers appeared on the streets of Kathmandu. Singha Darbar was cordoned off. Politicians, including Prime Minister B P Koirala who had been elected a year-and-half previously, were picked up simultaneously from their homes or offices, and hauled off to prison.   On Tuesday, 15 December it will be exactly 60 years since that fateful day which would determine the course of Nepal’s history for decades. King Mahendra and Prime Minister BP Koirala met at the palace for dinner a few days before the putsch. The King had just returned from a four-month trip to Japan, the United States and UK, and top secret plans were already in place for the coup d'état. Years later, Koirala related how towards the end of that meal, Mahendra (wearing trademark shades even though it was dark inside the room) gestured to Queen Ratna to leave and told him: “There cannot be two lions in a cage.”BP writes in his memoir that he had a ‘love hate’ relationship with Mahendra, who appreciated his work ethic, but was increasingly jealous of his popularity. The King’s aversion to political parties was well known, zamindars hated BP’s new land reform bill, and Mahendra sensed that Nehru’s India and Mao’s China, for different reasons, could live with a coup, as long as it did not make Nepal unstable.So, on पुस १, २०१७ (first day of the month of Pous 2017) the King made his move. In a speech he accused the Nepali Congress government of “failure to maintain law and order, being anti-national, corrupt and unaccountable”. The Swiss Ambassador was visiting Kathmandu from New Delhi on 15 December, and wrote a long cable to Berne about how BP Koirala had earlier talked about the difficulty of maintaining Nepal’s neutrality amidst Cold War tensions.US Ambassador Henry E Stebbins had met King Mahendra on 9 December in which he was given no hints of what he was planning, even though preparations must have been at an advanced stage. After the coup, Stebbins wrote to President Eisenhower: ‘…we feel that the King’s motives in taking the precipitate action he did were guided less by the issues of corruption and Communism than by a growing fear that his own personal position and prestige were dwindling and that if he did not act soon, it might be too late . . . the real motive behind the move was the preservation of the monarchy and the Shah dynasty in its absolute form.’However, just as Mahendra reckoned, Nepal’s two giant neighbours went along. China’s annexation of Tibet had spooked the Indians and Americans, and the British were focused on continued Gurkha recruitment. In fact, Queen Elizabeth was in Kathmandu on a royal visit within two months of the coup, and even went tiger hunting in Chitwan. History repeats itself repeatedly in Nepal. In 2005, King Gyanendra staged a carbon copy royal-military coup. Like his father and Stebbins, Gyanendra hoodwinked British Ambassador Keith Bloomfield into thinking that a coup was the last thing on his mind. Gyanendra’s speech on 1 February 2005 was identical to Mahendra’s in 1960. The son followed his father’s footsteps. On the 60th anniversary of पुस १ Nepal comes another full circle as supporters of a return to a Hindu monarchy exploit the political disarray, infighting, governance failure and corruption, to march on the streets demanding the secular republican constitution be scrapped. Some of the geopolitical dynamics of the Cold War in 1960 are also playing out again as Washington and New Delhi align against Beijing. Hindutva politics  in India may also be pushing the pendulum back to the right in Nepal. Tune in to Tom Robertson's article on Nepali Times Weekend Longreads on Saturday 12 December with declassified papers with new revelations about the US response to King Mahendra's coup.

Inside story of Nepal’s Rana dynasty

<img width="640" height="774" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110714118/636903929c7e80680e037ccejpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Bharat Shumsher was born at <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/the-rana-reign-a-recap-of-history,3751">Singha Durbar</a> 90 years ago, the first great grandson of Prime Minister Chandra Shumsher Rana. The birth of a future democracy warrior was celebrated by Nepal’s absolutist rulers as a day of national rejoicing.When in 1929 Chandra died and the family moved to Baber Mahal, Bharat was still a toddler. He grew up in the comforts of the palaces, but the luxuries of most of the Rana households were curtailed by Baber Shumsher: he believed in austerity and disciplined life style.‘Leadership’ came naturally to Bharat and he was the domineering figure among his two sisters and four brothers – one of them me. Somehow, ‘rebellion’ was instilled early in him against the on going social mores and lifestyle, including religious rites.  There was a small shrine of Bhimsen in the palace grounds venerated by all. Bharat used to hurl objects at it, saying if this be Bhimsen, I am Arjun.Later in life he wrote:‘The head of the family had unquestionable authority over property and the household, and often exercised these powers arbitrarily. We grew up under the theory of ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’. Everyone was compelled to observe and suffer through all the archaic rites and rituals, use cow urine or dung to purify oneself, accept injustice, discrimination and prejudice – unfortunately they still persist in society.’Bharat’s father Mrigendra strived to ensure the best possible education to his sons and daughters. Bharat was admitted to St Xavier’s’ College, Bombay. Once out of the stagnant air of a feudal society and authoritarian regime Bharat spread his wings, in the liberal and cosmopolitan environment of Bombay.Under a professor who happened to be a left leaning atheist, the angry young man of Baber Mahal turned into an eternal rebel. Bharat’s letter of commitment to B P Koirala’s call in 1946 for a united force of Nepalis to bring down the Rana regime, was the natural reaction of a rebel.Circumstances altered this course and he returned to Kathmandu with excellent grades in BA Honours. Prime Minister Mohan quickly persuaded him to join the government as Minister of Agriculture. He served in that capacity, not with great enthusiasm until the historical day of the fall of Rana oligarchy.For Bharat it was not the end but beginning of his illustrious political career. In 1952-53 he joined and then guided and inspired the Gorkha Dal, at that time scattered in several groups of  mainly Chetris from the Kaanth area, raged against the excesses of Brahman-Newar dominated Nepali Congress, with rare verve.In the general elections of 1958,the NC led by stalwarts such as BP Koirala, Subarna Shumsher, Ganeshman Singh and KP Bhattarai, with a proven record of long struggle against the Rana rulers scored a major victory with 74 seats in Parliament. Gorkha Dal secured 19 seats, as against four of the communist party and fewer of parties such as Praja Parishad led by Tanka Prasad Acharya and Ram Hari Joshi, the ‘living martyrs’.Bharat became the leader of opposition in Parliament. During 18 months, from May 1959 to December 1960 that this government was allowed to function, issues were debated fiercely at times but backed by sensible reasoning. The proceedings of the House was disrupted just one day and for a few hours.A common front was presented on matters of grave inter state issues. When Chinese troops intruded into Nepal’s territory in Mustang, fired on an unarmed police sub-post killing one officer, BP shared the concern with Bharat outside of Parliament and evolved a common strategy that led China to accept the mistake and pay a token compensation of Rs 50,000.Bharat stayed firmly by the side of BP Koirala when King Mahendra moved to dismiss the duly elected government through the military backed coup in December 1960. Arrested and jailed along with leaders of NC, he contrived to get released after about six months, and then, as was his plan, slipped away to India.In September 1961 he issued a public statement merging Gorkha Parishad into NC, to wage a common fight to restore democracy in Nepal. He was co-opted by Subarna Shumsher the acting Chairman into the ‘High Command’ of NC.In absence of BP, Bharat always sided with and led the wing within NC that opted for armed struggle against the King as against the conciliatory approach of Subarna. He was at the forefront of the two phases of insurgency and raids inside Nepali territory that NC carried out before BP advocated his policy of reconciliation ‘melmilap’ and with Ganeshman and other leaders, entered Nepal in December 1976 risking possible conviction for treason, and capital punishment. Bharat and Girija Koirala followed in April 1980.In May 1979 King Birendra announced a Referendum to decide between a multiparty democracy or ‘reformed’ Panchayat. The latter prevailed, with backing of the government and alleged large scale manipulation. BP felt that even in defeat the door for open canvassing and meetings with the people was now open and opted to accept the verdict of the referendum. Leaders including Ganeshman were reluctant, but  followed BP’s decision. Bharat was also convinced BP was right, and continued to actively support the party, moving between Calcutta and Kathmandu.BP’s death in July 1982 was followed by a smooth transition of leadership to Ganeshman as the Supreme commander and KP Bhattarai continuing as Acting President of the party. Bharat was close to Ganeshman personally, admired his courage and grit but found a great void in the intellectual content and commitment to the ‘social revolution’ that he shared with BP.Ganeshman’s contribution to the restoration of democracy in 1989, as undisputed leader Sarbamanya Neta, of NC and the newly formed United Marxist Leninists (UML), after 30 years of bitter struggle, is an unparalleled achievement. Bharat was a leading actor in that final round of struggle. He continued to visit Kathmandu after restoration of democracy and during the formation and promulgation of the new constitution under premiership of KP Bhattarai and his coalition government.He campaigned in many parts of the country during the parliamentary election of 1991. However thereafter he gradually moved out of national politics perhaps dismayed at the lack of sufficient interest of the party for a social ‘revolution’ against ‘injustice, discrimination, and prejudice’.In his last days, when he felt death approaching, he left a note for his family to follow: his body was not to be cremated but donated to a hospital, and his family not to perform any rites and customs associated with such occasions or advised by priests or friends.He had walked his talk even in death.Sagar Rana is the brother of Bharat ShumsherRana, who died this week in Kolkata, and the author of the book, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/the-rana-reign-a-recap-of-history,3751">Singha Darbar: Rise and Fall of the Rana Regime in Nepal</a>.

A brother's tribute to Bharat Shumsher

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

Thousands of Nepali students dreaming of an American education have been forced to look elsewhere as the Trump administration’s visa restrictions make their future uncertain.
The US was long considered a top destination for higher studies, making Nepal the 10th biggest country of origin for international students in America.&nbsp;
However, that number has seen a significant decline with the total for Nepali students now at 16,482. Some 8,000 Nepali students obtained no-objection certificates to study in the US from the Ministry of Education in the past year.&nbsp;
India, Australia, Canada, South Korea, United Kingdom and Japan are the other popular destinations for Nepali students. There are no clear numbers for Nepalis going to India, but a slight decline was noted this year after the deaths of two female students.
The US State Department has issued a circular to its embassies not to issue new visas to applicants until further notice. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the directive stated that the department planned to expand the screening of applicants' social media.&nbsp;
While new applicants are barred including those applying for visitor visas, students with scheduled interviews are allowed to proceed.
“Many of our students are affected by the new restrictions, but those who had applied for student visas earlier have got interview dates,” one Kathmandu-based college counsellor told us.
Meanwhile, even foreign students with spotless records already in the US have not been spared, as visa scrutiny intensifies under the new policy. In a move that underscores the growing sense of insecurity, many US colleges advised international students to carry their passports and documents at all times, even when traveling locally.
“Me and my friends did not go home this summer because we were not sure we would be allowed back, so we just went to Niagara Falls,” said a Nepali undergrad in Ohio, who like many interviewed for this report did not want her name used for fear of repercussion.
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Nepali students have adopted a cautious stance, with many choosing not to return home during summer vacation due to fear of visa revocations as well as travel bans. Meanwhile, over 7,000 Nepalis with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will have to come back to Nepal by 5 August or face deportation. Thirty-seven were flown back to Kathmandu on Omni Air last week.
“The US is one of the most sought-after destinations for higher education, and the ban will definitely impact bright students,” says Narottam Aryal of the King’s College in Kathmandu.
Indeed, Nepali undergraduates admitted into Ivy League colleges for the 2025 academic year have been asked to look for alternatives. The entire Fulbright Foreign Scholarships Board resigned on Wednesday citing interference from the Trump administration on the selection of this year’s cohort. Some Nepali students already on Fulbright scholarships have noted disruptions, delays and even cancellation of stipends.&nbsp;
The student visa restrictions were initially just for foreign students admitted to Harvard University, but it was later extended to all Chinese students and now to all students. Universities like Columbia which actively recruit foreign students, face sharp enrolment declines, threatening their financial stability and diversity.
An Indian female PhD candidate at Columbia University had her visa revoked by the US State Department, and said she was targeted on the basis of her social media posts on Israeli military attacks in Gaza. Social media vetting of political activism has raised concerns about privacy and freedom of expression in a country where such rights were a given.
Many students have been informed via email that their visas have been revoked for getting speeding or parking tickets, but even others with no criminal record have been affected. The fear of deportation looms large amongst international students, including those from Nepal.&nbsp;
For most Nepalis who migrate to the US for education, the journey is a high-stakes investment. They come largely from middle-class families, often rely on a patchwork of scholarships, work-study programs, loans, or even the sale of family assets to afford fees.
Most Nepali students pursue STEM subjects which offer extended Optional Practical Training (OPT) periods that help fund their education. But with the US backsliding on education and humanitarian matters, countries like the UK and Canada are becoming more attractive despite their own recent stricter controls on student visas.&nbsp;
The UK universities saw a 63% rise in Nepali students’ admissions in 2024. Japan is another popular destination with 64,816 Nepali students enrolled as of 2024.
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Already, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia are poised to benefit from the increased scrutiny of US student visas. Several Hong Kong universities are offering unconditional admission to affected students, while Malaysian institutions are targeting previously US-bound Asian students. China and India have 330,000 and 280,000 students respectively in America, but the numbers for China have seen a sharp drop in the past year.
Elsewhere, branch campuses of American institutions such as NYU in Abu Dhabi, Georgetown in Dubai and Northwestern in Doha are getting more admission applications, and universities in the Gulf region are expanding infrastructure to accommodate those who would otherwise have gone to the US.&nbsp;
Even educational institutions in Nepal are hopeful that the US visa restrictions can be an opportunity to at least keep Nepali undergrads in Nepal, and also attract foreign students from the region.&nbsp;
“Many students might choose to complete their undergraduate degree here in Nepal and then move abroad for their Master’s degree later,” says Aryal of King’s College. “There was a need for quality higher education in Nepal anyway in terms of innovation and opportunities, so this could be the time to reduce our dependence on other countries.”
Nepal’s strategic position between India and China makes it sensitive to US policy shifts. India, a key ally, is also under US scrutiny for potential student travel restrictions. Chinese universities are already offering more scholarships to Nepali talent to capitalise on the US retreat.
American universities have challenged student visa restrictions in the courts. A federal court in Boston revoked the blanket ban on Harvard, and the State Department has ordered the resumption of processing student and exchange visitor visas.&nbsp;
Some are still hoping that President Trump will backtrack on the student visa restrictions, just like he has done with many of his more drastic executive orders.
Even so, the visa see-saw and longer-term uncertainties about living in the United States and its education system means students across the world are making alternative plans.
Says Aryal: “Policies of foreign countries change according to their needs, so excessive dependence was never a good idea. We should work to create different opportunities and choices of higher education within Nepal, so students are retained.” &nbsp;

America no longer prime destination for Nepali students

While Nepal was hosting the Sagarmatha Sambaad international climate conference in Kathmandu this month, on Mt Everest it was pretty much business as usual.&nbsp; The signs of climate breakdown are all there: a river now runs through Base Camp in summer, the Khumbu Icefall is more unstable, and there are more &nbsp;frequent avalanches. When expeditions arrived in March, the mountains were bare: it had not snowed since September, but then blizzards dumped unseasonal snow in May. And despite climate worries, such is the pull of Himalayan mountaineering that the Everest Industry showed no signs of slowdown. More than 600 international climbers and their Nepali guides had made it to the summit of the world’s highest mountain. At one point there were an estimated 2,000 people in the tent city on the Khumbu Glacier. All the ropes and ladders on the Icefall came down on Thursday, marking the official end of the spring climbing season, and just in time to avoid a monsoon cyclone approaching from the Bay of Bengal. It has been an action-packed season. One factor could be that Everest fees will go up from September: each foreign climber needs to pay a $15,000 royalty, up from the present $11,000. The cost for a Nepali climber on the South Col route will also go up: from Rs75,000 to Rs150,000.&nbsp; The fee to climb Everest in autumn is $7,500 (up from $5,500), but most climbers still prefer spring. Winter permit fee (December-February) is only $3,750 per person and the mountain is now also open for monsoon (June-August) climbs, when the fee is ever lower at $2,750. The revised rule also makes it mandatory for every two climbers on an 8,000m peak to hire one Nepali mountain guide.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025053004050_67f856fe52714e4bdcf21ae7d45c6f18c82117b9d0a5f73ed1efa04c96de1046.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025053004050_67f856fe52714e4bdcf21ae7d45c6f18c82117b9d0a5f73ed1efa04c96de1046" data-rendition-name="original" width="931" height="732" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry graph 1"> </figure>  In addition, climbers also have to pay for porters and guides, equipment, Base Camp costs, Ice Fall and fixed rope team fees, so climbing Everest does not come cheap. But such is the draw of climbing the world’s highest peak that some say the increased fees will not diminish the crowds next year. The government has tried to spread expeditions out to other seasons and other 8,000ers, but with not much success. Earlier this year, Nepal unilaterally increased the number of 8,000m peaks to 14 by adding six more sub-summits to broaden the choice for climbers. Added were: Yalung Kang (8,505m), Yalung Kang West (8,077m) &nbsp;Kangchenjunga Central (8,473m), Kangchenjunga South (8,476m), Lhotse Middle (8,410m) and Lhotse Shar (8,400m).&nbsp; The announcement could go against the accepted topographic criteria that a stand alone peak has to be at least 300m higher than an adjoining prominence, and at more than 3km isolation from it. The UIAA (Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme) still recognises only 14 mountains as eight-thousanders, and only eight of those are in Nepal, or on the border with China. Nepal’s revised mountaineering regulations also increased the insurance coverage of high-altitude workers to protect porters and high altitude guides who usually take more risks on the mountains. Rescue teams and clean-up campaigners to collect trash and remove bodies of dead climbers up to Camp IV of Mt Everest do not need permits.&nbsp; The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee is now using drones to fly down trash in 20kg sacks. Each climber is also required to bring down at least 6kg of waste and not just their own, but this rule is erratically enforced. With five fatalities on Everest and Lhotse, Spring 2025 had a historically low death toll. Another five climbers died on Annapurna, Kangchenjunga and Makalu.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025053004050_38681de22f0fefb6faa12b01755566d09c5064d0ff84e12ccc7b5d68ea9ba38a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025053004050_38681de22f0fefb6faa12b01755566d09c5064d0ff84e12ccc7b5d68ea9ba38a" data-rendition-name="original" width="665" height="740" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest industry graph 2"> </figure>  Journalist Ben Ayers who ran the Everest Live social media channel from Everest Base Camp with daily updates credited the low death rate to dramatic rescues of climbers from the ‘Death Zone’ by their Nepali guides and longline helievacs — the visuals all uploaded on YouTube.&nbsp; “Ironically, this perception of safety is bringing more and more inexperienced climbers to the mountain, and they need more rescues,” Ayers said in one of his dispatches.&nbsp; American expedition chronicler and summiteer Alan Arnette suspects there is a lot of under-reporting given that the jet stream and storms were lashing Everest even till late in the season. He told us: “I heard a lot about frostbite and rescues that were not made public. It’s become practically impossible to cover the details on Everest. All the teams report nice news, and they don’t talk about bad stuff to avoid hurting businesses.” Although trash on Nepal’s mountains makes headlines, what does not receive as much attention is the climate impact of so many expeditions. The Sagarmatha Sambaad conference sidestepped this issue, which is ironic given that the impact of climate breakdown is most evident on Himalayan peaks and their glaciers.&nbsp; <h2>Need for Speed</h2> The big stories this year have been about speed-running from their home cities to the top of Everest. Ukrainian entrepreneur Andrew Ushakov flew out of JFK on 15 May at 10:15AM Nepal time, and was on the summit 3 days, 23 hours, and 7 minutes later on 19 May at 9:22AM.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250601080640_1c5cc6fc991307861768f07037ed9d30930fb20f35dbb57dc31c9a92a9e1a885.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250601080640_1c5cc6fc991307861768f07037ed9d30930fb20f35dbb57dc31c9a92a9e1a885" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="1800" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry"> <figcaption>Andrew Ushakov at the summt. Photo: ELITE EXPED</figcaption> </figure>  “I could never find the time for the traditional 40-50 days of acclimatisation,” Ushakov explained matter-of-factly. His ‘Everest Sea-to-Summit’ climb was possible because he spent 400 hours in hypoxic sleep tents over the past four years in New York. However, Ushakov did use ropes already fixed, hired four Nepali guides, helicoptered to Base Camp, and used much more oxygen than an average climber. And after the climb, Ushakov was arrested at Kathmandu airport for being in possession of $20,000 of undeclared cash and spent a night in jail and fined $60,000.&nbsp; The other speedsters were Garth Miller, Alastair Cairns, Anthony Stazicker, and Kev Godlington, all former British Army commandos. They left London and summited five days later on 21 May, and flew right back. They also used hypoxic tents to simulate the thin air high on Everest.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250601080644_90c8dd5cc07b4b43f2989b1dc0c0650ab80f10ebb06680c25a6909c519957bd8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250601080644_90c8dd5cc07b4b43f2989b1dc0c0650ab80f10ebb06680c25a6909c519957bd8" data-rendition-name="original" width="810" height="668" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry "> <figcaption>All four members of the Furtenbach team at the summit. Photo: Sandro Gromen-Hayes</figcaption> </figure>  But more controversial was their use of xenon gas therapy in a German hospital to ramp up the production of oxygen-carrying haemoglobins in their blood. Xenon is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency for being performance enhancing in sports. Expedition leader Lukas Furtenbach said this rule does not apply to mountaineering, as it is not a regulated sport like swimming. Nepal has no rules about xenon, but the Department of Tourism said it was launching an ‘investigation’ to decide on future policy since it is difficult to ban xenon, but allow oxygen. The controversy has also divided the mountaineering community, with some climbers saying they just want to maximise their chances of survival. Spending less time on the mountain could make climbing safer by reducing avalanche risk. It would also mean less trash on the mountains, but it would reduce the income of Nepal’s expedition industry. It is also unclear how much of the success was due to xenon therapy and whether the ex-special forces were already in good physical shape.&nbsp; The need for speed hides the fact that climbing in the Himalaya is dangerous business, and climbers cannot sprint to the top just by huffing xenon. But ultra-fast climbs could be charged more, and the revenue generated can be used to establish state-of-the-art rescue operations, and increase pay and insurance for guides. Two other speed chasers this season were Swiss-Ecuadorian Karl Egloff and American Tyler Andrews, both on Everest without oxygen. Andrews choppered to Base Camp to catch a weather window, but turned back from 8,500m due to high winds. Heavy snow and wind also forced Egloff to descend from 7,000m. Slow and steady climbers like Anja Blacha from Germany did make it to the summit without oxygen, while Kami Rita Sherpa broke his own record with his 31st Everest summit as he led a 26-strong Indian Army group. There were 468 permits issued for foreign climbers from 48 expeditions to Everest this spring. Nepal’s other eight-thousanders together had only 17 expeditions. Nepal has more than 1,000 peaks above 6,000m, and has opened only 476 of them for climbing.&nbsp;

The Everest Industry

While Nepal marked <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mt-everest-pvt-ltd">Mt Everest</a> Day on 29 May, on the other side of the planet in the US state of Colorado dozens of Nepalis who have climbed the world’s highest peak multiple times were busy working as chefs and Uber drivers. Among them is Nima Doma Sherpa, who climbed Mt Everest in 2019 after her husband Tshering Wangchu was among 16 crushed by an avalanche on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu">the Khumbu Icefall</a> five years earlier. A large serac broke off the West Shoulder of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-everest-industry">Mt Everest </a>and fell directly on a group of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/more-porters-sick-on-everest-trail">porters and guides</a> making their way up the Icefall at 5,800m. Their bodies were flown by helicopter to Khumjung where Tshering Wangchu was born. He was excited about climbing Mt Everest for the first time.&nbsp; In Khumjung, Nima Doma felt like her own life had also ended. This was the kind of news Sherpa wives, mothers and sisters dreaded every <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/peak-climbing-season-2025-s4abrxny">mountaineering season</a>. She stayed home for more than two years grieving, but ultimately gathered up all her emotional strength to take care of her 6-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. Nima had grown up in Khumjung hearing <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/stories-of-nepal-s-summiteers">tales of adventure on the mountains </a>from their father, Ang Chubi Sherpa who had climbed Everest in 1993. He used to bring her and her sisters and brother European chocolates after every expedition, and used to tell them that the chocolate bars grew on the mountains. “It was only after we got older did we realise that he told us that chocolates grew in the mountains so we would not worry about him putting himself in harm's way,” Nima Doma recalled with a faraway look at her home in Boulder this week. Nima went to the school that <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/commemorating-edmund-hillary-in-nepal,4145">Edmund Hillary</a> opened in Khumjung till Grade 8, and then dropped out to help in the kitchen and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">tend yaks</a>. She was married off to Tshering Wangchu, who was also a high altitude guide. When Tshering went on expeditions, Nima also started working as a porter from Namche to Base Camp. It was perhaps her father’s tales of mountains of chocolates that had always attracted her to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/knowing-our-mountains-43v4iyvo">the peaks</a>. After her husband was killed ten years ago this month, being a widow with children was not easy for Nima Doma. But she was not alone: there were at least 200 single mothers in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/khumbu-since-1950-jaww4qn0">the Khumbu</a>, and 20 of them just in Khumjung whose husbands had been killed in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/tragic-start-to-himalayan-spring-nepal,3695">mountaineering accidents</a>. Some were not even 20 years old, and had children growing up without fathers. But there were also women in the 50s whose husbands had been killed in the 1980s. Nima found sponsors for her children’s education, and moved to Kathmandu. In the capital, Sherpa widows used to meet to help each other. Some of them had joined the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) training for rock and ice climbing. “I decided that it was no use sitting home and crying anymore, after meeting other single mothers I felt less alone,” remembers Nima, who joined the Juniper Foundation and enrolled in an NMA training camp in Manang. There she climbed Chulu East (6,584m) and met Furadiki Sherpa, whose rope-fixing husband had also been <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/on-mt-everest-s-70th-records-and-fatalities">killed on Everest</a> in 2013. They set themselves the goal of climbing Everest one day, and started a fund-raising drive.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530090544_621be0724b9182c8e3594b2c562a71ec32ac01d985a71d0cf31646de9d51e15a.png" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250530090544_621be0724b9182c8e3594b2c562a71ec32ac01d985a71d0cf31646de9d51e15a" data-rendition-name="original" width="2678" height="1274" loading="lazy" alt="Everest summiteers find new life in the US"> </figure>  “We decided we had to overcome society’s stigma of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/widows-personal-happiness-comes-last-in-face-of-social-financial-hardships,1855">widowhood</a> and prove that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/remembering-junko-tabei">women could also climb mountains</a>,” Nima said, adding that she was inspired by Nepal’s first woman Everest summiteer Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, who died during her descent in 1993. Nima Doma and Furdiki climbed the technically-difficult Ama Dablam (6,812m) and then arrived at Everest Base Camp in April 2019 as part of their Two Widows Expedition with the motto, ‘So Can We’. While climbing up the Icefall Nima passed the spot where her husband had been killed. It was a jumble of constantly-shifting ice blocks bigger than houses. She closed her eyes and said a prayer. “I remember thinking, this is so difficult and dangerous. This is what my husband had to do to support our family,” Nima Doma said. “I was determined to fulfil my husband’s dream of climbing Chomolungma, and to prove to ourselves that we two women could do it.” It was 23 May 2019 when <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/world/two-sherpa-widows-scale-everest-and-smash-stigma-idUSKCN1SU0MV/" target="_blank">Nima and Furdiki stepped on the summit</a> and looked over into Tibet, and down at Tengboche Monastery to the south.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530090544_6b822582b5d88ba5e972db084f184690b40653c6efd9901b2dd082ffba2a263b.png" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20250530090544_6b822582b5d88ba5e972db084f184690b40653c6efd9901b2dd082ffba2a263b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2700" height="1522" loading="lazy" alt="Everest summiteers find new life in the US"> </figure>  Nima Doma hugged Furdiki, took off her mask and wept. But for the first time in five years, it was not from grief but relief — relief for being free of all the sadness and sacrifices and for fulfilling her husband’s dream. They had found <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/life-after-death">life after death</a>. “I felt this immense joy to be on top of the world, it was indescribable,” Nima Doma said, “I have wept only twice in my life. Once when my husband died, and once there on top of Everest.” The tears had frozen on Nima Doma’s cheeks, as she and Furdiki headed back down the mountain.

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