Curiously I have not been following the Nepali language press since 2/1. Primarily because I had not installed the Devnagari font on my computer: it takes but less than a minute. Today I did. And went over to the left hand column at the NepalNews site: all those weeklies. And I am glad I did. Because they are more in tune with the rumors and gossip and news in the Kathmandu valley. These Nepali language weeklies might be the best available thermometers for the political temperature in Kathmandu.
Budhabar
Deshantar
Dishanirdesh
Drishti
Janaaastha
Janadharna
Nispakshya
Nepali Times
Spotlight
Tasapaw
Telegraph
A few of these are in English, mind you.
Here are some samples.
From The Nepali Language Press
- Budhabar: Major steps are being taken to snuff out any possible movement ..... The Prachanda-Baburm fissure, if anything, has gone worse within the Maoist ranks ..... Narayan Man Bijukchhe interview; the reporter says the movement has been like trying to boil water on top of Everest
- Deshantar: The king is getting in a mood to talk to the parties after having failed on all fronts in five months .... Tulsi Giri is losing popularity even among the Monarchists ... The movement will continue on during the monsoon rains ..... The king's nominations to the Human Rights Commission are being looked into by the UN ..... Narajhari Acharya is not happy about his release from custody ..... The Congress convention in Kathmandu in shambles ...... Things that were done by the then regime to snuff about the 1990 movement that could get repeated now ..... Prachanda's white lies ..... Possibilities of a coalition for a democratic republic ...... The responsibilities of political parties ..... Ram Chandra Poudel interview: the king has brought the parties and the Maoists together
- DishaNirdesh: The king's rein over the state treasury; Bishta and Giri having getting a monthly salary of Rs. 75,000 plus allowances, Giri's monthly rent of Rs. 60,000 is being paid for by the government, Madhukar Rana has been given Rs. 500,000 for medical treatment; a king who has declared he will do 100 years worth of development in 10 years is busy emptying the state treasury; Ramesh Nath Pandey is Rs. 50 lakhs richer in two years, 300,000 people in Bardiya left the country and the king does not care, he only cares about his inner circle, not about the people ........ Parties are willing to go for a republic ..... Party at the palace .... The king is not about to budge
- Drishti: The king is growingly unhappy with his ministers ..... Sharad Chandra Shah is momentarily out of favor with the king ..... A new campaign by the Maoists ...... Several ministers to be sacked after the budget announcement .... Remembering Madan Bhandari; look at what Bhandari had to say about Sachit Shamsher Rana's character back then, 15 years back ..... The king will sink solo
- Janaastha: Bishta and Giri are creating tension for the king; Giri overrules the king's nomination for Janakpur Cigarette Factory GM .... A fight of the Brahmins inside the palace .... Young woman tortured and killed; 800 Maoists attacked Diktel ..... Secret talks with Baburam Bhattarai; Mohan Bikram Singh is trying to split the Maoists, said to have had secret talks with Baburam, Baburam revealed he was in physical danger
- Janadharana: More accusations Baburam's way; Prabhakar, Biplav, and Ananata have been going after Baburam in the Maoist paper Janadesh; the Prachanda-Baburam clash is on, and Prachanda seems to have the stronger hand, although both are quiet for the moment ..... Poudel and Acharya going their own ways within the Congress; attempts are on to sideline Narahari Acharya ..... The parties are ready to talk to the king, Arjun Narsingh KC, Modnath Prashrit .... Raging talks about a Constituent Assembly ..... Even of two of the three get together, the third will not be destroyed ..... Questions raised by the Tulsi Giri episode; Giri is the number one topic in the media right now; he was an up and coming leader of the Nepali Congress before 1960
- Nispakshya: The seven parties say one thing and do another; Siddhilal Singh said this movement will be much larger than the one in 1990 .... There is fear Prachanda might get Baburam killed .... Our leaders dance to the tune of Delhi .....
- Need For A Meeting Point By Keshab Poudel Spotlight Koirala is leading an extreme group in the name of democracy but with the style of feudal patriarch and the party is taken for granted in his every utterance. “It is unfortunate to say that a Ceasar is leading a democratic movement in Nepal,” said an analyst.
- Creator of insurgency to go in for talks Telegraph Koirala's energy has doubled, it appears, after his mentors' ion Delhi provided him with effective Mantras .... he is the one who remained instrumental for the emergence of the Maoists insurgency. To recall, it was during his dictatorial rule in the early 1990s that the population in the western region were so much terrorized by his state-sponsored police torture that a sizeable chunk of the population living in that area preferred to embrace ideologies other that those of a democratic system...... how come he suddenly so confidently declare that he is the one who could only initiate talks with the Maoists and that he is the one who can bring them to the peace talks.... the Maoists top hats residing in the suburbs of Delhi.... he says that he was all set to talk to the Maoists even if the Nepali authorities push him behind the bars. Why should the state authorities put him in jail for such a profitable cause? In effect if Koirala succeeds in his claims, he should be awarded "Nepal Ratna" medal for his great service to the nation....... Koirala is far with the King only in lectures and speeches. He is not that far for it is this Koirala who have had met the King prior to his Delhi visit at a Budha Nil Kantha hotel for a full two hours..... And who could be the fittest personality other than Koirala for this deed whose follies while in power did facilitate the emergence of this insurgency to say the lease...... brings to an end to the rule of the Koirala's in Morang district
- Who is encouraging Madhav Nepal? Telegraph Mr. Madhav Kumar Nepal pleasingly announces that he "hopes to weaken the Nepali monarchy by the dint of movement of the seven party alliance in opposition to the King and with the barrels of the guns acquired by the Maoist rebels...... Should this mean that Madhav Nepal is speaking a voice that is sponsored one? .....
- Dr. Bhattarai claims his ideology should prevail and not of his detractor Telegraph .... the present chaotic atmosphere that is reigning supreme inside the Maoists insurgency's upper echelon have had a peculiar but extraordinary reason that in essence brought the two top hats of the rebel group, comrade Prachanda and Dr. Bhattarai to a fierce tussle that is apparently still continuing...... a sizeable fissure in between the two otherwise very intimate friends and champions of the rebel movement..... many a local and central zonal commanders of the insurgency appear to have been supporting Prachanda which means that the struggle waged by Dr. Bhattarai against Prachanda is still continuing and would perhaps continue until he becomes assured that his own developed analytical ideologies and theories prevail over his competitor's...... Comrade Ananta, chief of the eastern central command of the insurgency has recently talking to Janadesh weekly has said that Dr. Bhattarai's ego, self-centered attitude; intellectual arrogance; self pleasing analyses and his consideration that only the fittest of all should be allowed to rule were some of the causes that have created the present problems in the party...... the two are quarrelling a fight whose end is not in sight.
- To the Maoists with love… Telegraph
- Europe -a model for South Asia ? Telegraph The common European currency did not only stimulate the trade within the EU, it also easily caught up with the US-Dollar and entered a competition for the position of being the world’ s leading currency.
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