What did Girija Koirala mean by that? I am bewildered.
It can be understood to have been a peace and reconciliation overture, soudly rebuffed by a government minister. It is unrealistic to think this regime is interested in any such thing.
But then what do you mean by postponing elections? If it were to be held on March 8 instead of February 8, would you participate? I hope that is not what Girija meant.
February 8 will make bipolarization possible. And we have to move to that end. Since the regime will not take it back, we have to cash it to our best interests. A sound failure on February 8 on their behalf could end up the fatal blow to the regime that it deserves.
The parties perhaps do not have the resources to conduct a continuous movement as yet. And hence their sole focus for now to disrupt the February 8 polls has to be seen as a sound strategy.
The Past Three Weeks
These past three weeks I have talked to many individuals, in the US and in Nepal, some of which are Bimalendra Nidhi, Dinesh Tripathi, Amik Sherchan, Shambhu Thapa, and Sudha Sharma. Tripathi is in Baltimore and we stay in touch. He is the point person at this end for the legal action project. Nidhi has been busy preparing for his party's general convention in early January. Amik Sherchan is a firebrand, quick to lose his temper, energetic, passionate. Shambhu Thapa is promising. He and the Nepal Bar Association are the other end of the legal action project.
Mirror Site
I set up another mirror site for the five projects: Project Nepal Democracy. It is largely informational.
There have been many authors to the ideas collected at the site. And it is not like this document launched all things listed. Several of the projects were already being worked upon, some by groups who did not know of each other, and still do not interact, because they do not need to.
Take one example, the ezine Loktantra. It has been named in the document, but it has been the work of some folks in Delhi and they have been putting it out for months now. Loktantra got launched months before the diaspora in the US started talking in terms of these various projects.
My point being there is no central authority. As long as the work gets done, it does not really matter how, and by who.
But the information site is a pretty good picture of all the work that is being done by the diaspora.
Each project has several mini projects.
I personally think small groups of 3-4 people tackling many mini projects is the best way to move ahead, the most efficient way.
Clandestine Work
I have been for being open. But that is just me.
There are many donors who do not wish to disclose their identities. There are some projects where one donor does not know of another. Book keeping is to be kept only among the group because that is how the donors wish it. That is also one valid model.
I think each project, and each mini project is going to end up with its own little subculture. There is not going to be one standard way.
ANA Convention
I have been to only one of those so far, the one in DC in 2002. And I expect to attend the one in NYC during the summer of 2006. Hopefully the movement in Nepal will have succeeded by then, and we will be in a festive mood.
To me going to an ANA Convention is not that different from going clubbing. You buy the ticket, you go in, have fun, come out, and be gone. You don't really care to know who owns the club, who the manager is, and so on. You just want the water, you don't much care about the piping. Actually there were loud complaints after Dallas last year that the tickets are too pricey. And there is no open book keeping. I think that is a problem. The ANA needs to display the details at its site.
Madhesis are conspicuous by their absence. Instead you see throngs of Pahadis/Bahuns.
After Dallas last year Ratan Jha called me in exasperation: "ANTA has ended up with more Pahadi than Madhesi members!" People like Kiran Sitoula, Sanjaya Parajuli and Pramod Aryal became Life Members, looks like.
Nepal Democracy Forum
The official reason given to kick me out of the forum has been that I went public with this letter by Jeet Joshee: NAC Goes Proactive. The heck with Jeet Joshee.
That is just so lame. So NAC was going to send a quiet letter to Jimmy Carter and then expect him to go off on a Nepal tour? Was that the idea? The use of that letter is not that Jimmy Carter might respond to it, he will not, that is just the political reality, but that the NAC wrote it and sent it, and the letter can have a major propaganda value for the democracy movement. But if you are not going to take it public, why did you write it in the first place?
On Carter's map, NAC is a no name organization, no offense.
How ridiculous is that? I personally do not know Jeet Joshee. I had never heard of him until recently. But if he does not realize the propaganda value of the letter he wrote, I doubt his political acumen.
I think my ouster is more a got-you-on-a-technicality mindset of a handful of self-important people whose primary contribution to the movement is to send each other links to Kantipur articles.
Mero Sansar, Blogger Nepal
Umesh Shrestha and Krishna Prasad Dhungana, the two Kathmandu based pioneer bloggers have been doing amazing work. I am so impressed with the progress they have made.
They are very close to turning their blogs into self supporting businesses. That has been the unreported story. I can not disclose all the details, but it has been so exciting working with them.
These dudes are so happening.
Political Consciousness And Literacy
My recent interactions with my fellow Madhesis have led me to feel you could have been born a Madhesi, but the Madhesi political consciousness is like acquiring literacy. It is a conscious effort, there is work, effort involved.
Understanding the concept of free speech for many Pahadis/Bahuns is the same way. The literacy has not been achieved yet.
Madhesi, Desi
On the American scene, it is about the Desi identity. That is the brown identity.
I am a Desi.
Madhesi.
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