Rajendra Mahto: नागरिकता विधेयक खोतल्दा

नागरिकता विधेयक खोतल्दा

राजेन्द्र महतो

नागरिकता राष्ट्रियतासँग जोडिएको सवाल हो । यो नागरिकको अधिकार र दैनिक जीवनलाई प्रभावित गर्ने विषय हो । कुनै पनि व्यक्ति राष्ट्रविहीन रहन सक्दैन । नेपालमा ४०-५० लाख जनता वास्तविक नागरिक हुँदाहुँदै पनि राज्यद्वारा खडा गरिएको समस्याबाट अनागरिक भएका छन् । चार दशकदेखि उनीहरूलाई विभिन्न संवैधानिक तथा कानुनी जटिलता पैदा गरी नागरिकता प्रमाणपत्र दिइएको छैन ।

समस्या नागरिकताको होइन, मानसिकताको हो । कानुनी समस्या संशोधन तथा परिमार्जन गरेर समाधान गर्न सकिन्थ्यो तर एउटै समुदाय विशेषका कानुन तथा नीति निर्माताको मानसिकता ठीक नहुँदा समस्या समाधान हुन सकेको छैन । यस्ता व्यक्तिबाट नियम कानुन निर्माण तथा त्यसको सफल कार्यान्वयन हुन सक्दैन । मधेसीप्रतिको सोचमा परिवर्तन नआई देशको आधा आवादी मधेसी समुदायको नागरिकता समस्या समाधान हुनेवाला छैन । मधेसीप्रति सदीयौंदेखि गरिएको शोषण, भेदभाव, उत्पीडन समाप्त नहुने हो भने भोलि के होला भन्न सकिन्न । स्थिति कति विस्फोटक हुने हो ? परिणाम के के हुन सक्छ ? सायद शासकले अनुमान लगाएका छैनन् ।

यही नागरिकताको सवाल सद्भावना पार्टीले आफ्नो जन्मकालदेखि प्राथमिकताका साथ उठाउँदै आएको छ । नागरिकता राष्ट्रियतासँग जोडिएको सवाल भएकाले अविलम्ब समाधान भएन भने लाखौं मधेसी राष्ट्रियताको खोजीमा निस्कँदा नयाँ रािष्ट्रयता निर्माण गर्न अग्रसर नहोउन् । यस्तो परिस्थिति नबनोस् भनेर जहिले पनि हामी संवेदनशील तथा चिन्तित छांै । एकै चोटीमा नागरिकता समस्या सदाका लागि समाधान हुनुपर्छ । त्यसपछि मुलुकमा कसैले पनि 'नागरिकता' समस्या उठाउन नपरोस् ।

नागरिकता समस्या समाधान गराउँदा कुनै पनि गैरनेपालीले त्यो प्रमाणपत्र पाउनु हुँदैन । त्यसका लागि आवश्यक दण्ड-सजाय व्यवस्था अनिवार्य हुन्छ । तर गैरनेपालीले पाउलान् भन्ने बहानामा कसैलाई पनि नागरिकताबाट वञ्चित गर्नुहुँदैन । मधेसीको मूलभूत समस्या अर्कै हो । उसप्रति गरिएको राजनीतिक, आर्थिक, सामाजिक, सांस्कृतिक, भाषिक शोषण तथा भेदभावविरुद्ध संघर्ष गरी अधिकार तथा अस्तित्व रक्षा गर्दै सम्मानपूर्ण जीवन प्रदान गर्ने अवसर दिलाउन बाँकी छ । राज्य व्यवस्थाको सञ्चालनमा बराबरका हिस्सेदार बनाउन बाँकी छ । अहिलेसम्म मधेसीले यो मुलुकमा एउटा शरणार्थीको जीवनबाहेक के पाएको छ ? त्यसैले मधेसी समुदायको असली लडाइँ त अब सुरु हुन्छ जब नागरिकता समस्या पूर्णरूपमा समाधान हुन्छ ।

सरकारले हालै मन्त्रिपरिषद्बाट पारित गरी प्रतिनिधिसभामा पठाएको नागरिकता विधेयकले वर्षौदेखि जटिल रूपमा रहेको नागरिकता समस्या पूर्णरूपमा समाधान गर्न सक्दैन । किनभने मधेसीप्रतिको प्रतिगमनकारी सोच फेरि हावी हुन लागेको छ । भरखरै सम्पन्न ०६२/०६३ को ऐतिहासिक जनआन्दोलनको मर्म र भावना विपरीत मधेसीको नागरिकताको सवाल आउँदा सरकारले ०४६ को जनआन्दोलन सम्भिmन पुगेको छ । र, विधेयकमा ०४६ चैतसम्म जन्मेकालाई नागरिकता दिने प्रावधान ल्याएको छ । ०४६ को आन्दोलन हुँदा त्यसलाई बिर्सेर ०१९ को निरंकुश पञ्चायती संविधानलाई नागरिकताका लागि जिउँदै राख्ने काम गरियो । र त्यहीअनुरूप ०४७ को मा ०१९ को संविधानको धारा ७ लाई राखेर जिउँदो पारियो । यस प्रकार मधेसीको सवाल आउँदा राज्यपक्ष जहिले पनि संवेदनहीन भएर प्रतिगमनतर्फ गएको देखिन्छ । जबसम्म ०४७ को संविधानको धारा ८ र ९ लाई खारेज गरिँदैन तबसम्म यो विधेयक पास भएर पनि लागू हुन सक्दैन । फेरि कुनै बालकृष्ण न्यौपाने संविधानसँग बाझिएको भनी सर्वोच्च अदालतमा नपुग्ने र कानुन खारेज नहुने कुरा छैन ।

विधेयकको दफा ३ ले जन्मको आधारमा नेपाली नागरिकता प्राप्तिको व्यवस्था गर्दै ०४६ चैत मसान्तभन्दा अगाडि नेपालभित्र जन्म भई स्थायी बसोबास गर्दै आएको जन्मका आधारमा नागरिक हुने भनिएको छ ।

अब प्रश्न उठ्छ- ०४६ चैतपछि जन्मेका नेपालीका सन्तानलाई के गर्ने ? एउटा सन्तान ०४६ चैत पहिले जन्म्यो उसले यस कानुनअनुसार नागरिकता लियो तर अर्को सन्तान चैतपछि नेपालमै जन्मेको छ, त्यसको के हुने ? एउटा सन्तान नागरिक अर्को सन्तान अनागरिक ? ०४६ पछि जन्मेका नागरिकका ती युवा सन्तानले पनि ऐतिहासिक जनआन्दोलनमा भाग लिएका थिए तिनीहरूलाई यो विधेयकले दण्डित गर्न खोजेको त होइन ? के जनआन्दोलनको भावना यही थियो ?

दफा ४ मा वंशजको नाताले नेपालको नागरिकता प्राप्तिको व्यवस्था गर्दै भनिएको छ, कुनै व्यक्तिको जन्म हुँदा निजको बाबु वा आमा नेपालको नागरिक रहेछ भने त्यस्तो व्यक्ति वंशजको नाताले नेपालको नागरिक हुनेछ । यो कानुन कुनै नयाँ होइन, यो प्रावधान नागरिकता ऐन, ०२० को दफा ३ को व्यवस्था हो, जुन प्रस्ट नभएकाले गलत व्याख्या हुँदै आएको छ । यसले ४० वर्षदेखि समस्या बढाउने कार्य गर्दै आएको छ । यहाँ 'नागरिक रहेछ' को अर्थ 'नागरिकता प्राप्त गरेको लाई' र नागरिकता प्राप्त गरेको मितिपछि मात्र नागरिक हुनेजस्तो व्याख्या हालसम्म छ । 'बाबुले नागरिकता लिनुभन्दा पहिले जन्मेका सन्तानलाई' यसले नागरिक मान्न प्रतिबन्ध लगाउँछ । मानौं बाबुले कानुनअनुसार ०४६ चैतअगाडि जन्मेको नाताले अहिले नागरिकता लियो । ०४६ पछि जन्मेको त्यसको सन्तानले कसरी नागरिकता पाउँछ ?

त्यस्तै दफा ५ -३) ले जन्मको आधारमा नागरिकता पाउनेलाई 'अंगीकृत' नागरिकता दिने व्यवस्था गरेको छ । त्यतिमात्रै होइन, जुन गरिबसँग केही प्रमाण छैन त्यसका लागि कुनै नागरिकता प्राप्त व्यक्तिको सिफारिसका आधारमा दिने प्रावधान राख्नुको साटो अर्थहीन प्रावधान राखिएको छ ? विधेयकमा तीनजना नागरिकतावालाको सिफारिसले पुग्दैन, उसको नाम मतदाता सूची वा राष्ट्रिय जनगणनामा हुनुपर्‍यो र त्यसको सर्जमिन मुचुल्का हुनु पर्‍यो । यस प्रकार कुनै प्रमाण नहुने नागरिकका लागि व्यवस्था हुन सकेन । आधार र प्रमाण जुटाउन नसकेको कारणले नागरिकता समस्या समाधान गर्न कठिनाइ भएको बिर्सिनु हुँदैन । त्यसमा पनि दिने अधिकारीलाई स्वविवेकीय अधिकार दिइएको छ ।

त्यस्तै दफा १२ मा नागरिकता रद्द गर्ने प्रावधानमा आपत्तिजनक व्यवस्था गरिएको छ । विधेयकमा कुनै नेपाली नागरिकले झूटो विवरण दिई 'नेपाली नागरिकता' लिएमा रद्द गर्ने प्रावधान छ । नेपाली नागरिकको निवेदन फारममा कुनै कारणले गलत उमेर ठेगाना वा कुनै विवरणले नागरिकता नै रद्द गर्ने प्रावधान उचित हो र ?

नागरिकतासम्बन्धी मुद्दा अदालतमा जानुको सट्टा प्रशासनमा राख्नु, अदालतमा पुनरावेदन लाग्ने प्रस्ट व्यवस्था नहुनुजस्ता त्रुटिपूर्ण प्रावधान छन् । बदनियतपूर्वक नागरिकता रद्द गरेमा त्यसको कानुनी उपचारको प्रस्ट व्यवस्था गरिनुपर्छ ।

यो संवेदनशील समस्याको समाधान दृढ इच्छाशक्ति र मानसिकतामा परिवर्तन नभएसम्म हुन सक्दैन । त्यसो हुने हो भने नागरिकता प्रदान गर्न केको कठिनाइ ? विधेयकमा आवश्यक संशोधन र परिमार्जन गरी देखिएका सबै समस्या समाधान खोज्नु आवश्यक छ ।

-लेखक, नेपाल सद्भावना पार्टी -आनन्दीदेवी) का महासचिव हुन् )

Nepal's Terai People In Deplorable Conditions: Mahto
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माओवादीद्वारा निजी वन कब्जा
विपन्नलाई छात्रवृत्ति
दलहरूमा ३३ प्रतिशत 'दलभित्र पुरुष मनोवृत्ति रहे पनि संसद्को निर्णय मान्न कर लागेको छ' महिला संघ कास्की सभापति शारदा पौडेल भन्छिन्- 'अब हुने गाउँदेखि जिल्ला र केन्द्रसम्मको अधिवेशनमा ३३ प्रतिशत महिलाको सहभागिता हुनेछ ।' .... महिला सहभागिताको प्रसंगमा ०५१ को स्थानीय निर्वाचनमा प्रत्येक वडामा १ महिला सदस्य उठाउनै पर्ने बाध्यत्ाा थियो । त्यसले गर्दा ४० हजार महिला नेतृत्वमा पुगे । ..... संसद्को घोषणापछि महिला सहभागिता बढे पनि यथार्थमा सबै संरचनामा ३३ प्रतिशत महिला कुनै पनि दलमा छैनन् । विद्रोही दल माओवादीको जनमुक्ति सेनामा ४० प्रतिशत महिला भएको बताइन्छ । माओवादीले ३३ प्रतिशत होइन, समान सहभागिता हुनुपर्नेमा जोड दिएको छ । .... जनआन्दोलन- २ मा पनि ४० प्रतिशतभन्दा बढी त महिला उत्रिएका थिए अधिकारका लागि । ..... कोेइरालाका अनुसार महिलाले सरकार र आफ्नै दलभित्र आन्दोलन गरिरहनुपर्छ, समान सहभागिताका लागि । ..... 'माओवादीले आफ्नो पार्टीभित्र ५० प्रतिशत महिला सहभागिता गराइसकेको छ ।' माओवादी कास्कीका सेक्रेटरी करणले पनि माओवादीको स्थानीय तहमा ५० प्रतिशत महिला भएको दाबी गरे । माओवादीले पनि शान्तिवार्ता समिति र अन्तरिम संविधान मस्यौदा समितिमा समेत सुरुमा महिलाको नाम प्रस्ताव नगरेकोप्रति सशंकित हुनुपर्ने अवस्था छ ।
नागरिकता विधेयक खोतल्दा
दलको निरंकुशतासँग भ्रष्टाचारको सम्बन्ध सामान्य हिसाबमा एक जिल्लामा दलको कार्यालय चलाउन कमसेकम मासिक १० हजार रुपैयाँ खर्च लाग्छ, कार्यालयको बहाल, बिजुली, पानी, फोन, कर्मचारी आदि । यो दरले ७५ जिल्लामा वर्षमा एउटा दलले ९० लाख रुपैयाँ खर्च गर्छ । साना दलको सबै जिल्लामा कार्यालय हुन्न भने ठूला दलको २ सय ५ निर्वाचन क्षेत्रमै कार्यालय छन् । औसत एउटा दलले वाषिर्क १ करोड रुपैयाँ खर्च गर्ने देखिन्छ । ......... एक निर्वाचन क्षेत्रमा एउटा उम्मेदवार र उसको दलले संयुक्तरूपमा जम्मा ३ लाख रुपैयाँमात्र खर्च गरेको अवस्थामा पनि सबै निर्वाचन क्षेत्रमा ६ करोड १५ लाख रुपैयाँ खर्च हुन्छ । ...... यत्रो रकम दललाई कहाँबाट आउँछ ? स्वाभाविक उत्तर हुन्छ, व्यापारी वर्ग, कर्मचारी र गैरसरकारी संस्थाबाट । दलको खर्च जोगाड गर्नेले आफ्नो लगानी उपर गर्छन ....... दलका लागि पैसा उठाउने क्रममा राजनेताले आफ्नो ७ पुस्ताका लागि बन्दोबस्त गर्छन् । ....... दलहरू यस विषयमा न पारदर्शी छन् न जवाफदेही । उनीहरू प्राप्त पैसा र खर्च सार्वजनिक गर्दैनन् र यस्ता खर्च लेखापरीक्षण पनि हुन्नन् । ....... दल, व्यापारी, कर्मचारीतन्त्र र गैसस रहेको एउटा चतुर्भुज बनेको हुन्छ । चतुर्भुजको जगको काम दलले गरेका छन् । रमाइलो त के भने दल र कर्मचारीतन्त्र व्यापारी वर्गलाई तस्कर वा 'नाफाखोर' भन्छन्, व्यापारी र गैसस कर्मचारीतन्त्र र दललाई 'घूसखोर' को पदवी दिन्छन् । अधिकांश गैसस 'डलर खेती गर्ने' नामले प्रख्यात छन् । ........ दलहरूमा आन्तरिक लोकतन्त्र छैन, उनीहरू अझै राजनीतिकरूपमा निरंकुश छन् ।...... कांग्रेसमा त निर्णय एक व्यक्तिले गरेर दलका अन्यले पत्रिका पढेर थाहा पाउँछन् । ...... अब बन्ने संविधानमा अनिवार्य रूपमा दलमा आन्तरिक लोकतन्त्र हुनुपर्ने व्यवस्था गरिनुपर्छ । ....... संविधानमा सरकार प्रमुख प्रत्यक्ष निर्वाचनबाट छान्ने व्यवस्था गरेर, मन्त्रिमण्डल गैरसांसद व्यावसायिक व्यक्तिबाट बनाउने व्यवस्था गर्नुपर्छ । सरकार प्रमुखले मन्त्रिमण्डलका लागि मनोनयन गरेका व्यक्ति संसद्मा सुनुवाइ गरेर बहुमत सांसदलाई स्वीकार्य ठहरिएपछि मात्र मन्त्री पदमा नियुक्ति गर्ने व्यवस्था गर्नुपर्छ । यसो गरे एक व्यक्ति एक पदको अवधारणा पनि अवलम्बन हुनजान्छ । ....
हतियार बोकेका ट्रक खोज्दै
केशरमहलको स्वप्न बगैंचा सर्वसाधारणका लागि खुला हुने
सुरक्षा अभावले निजी क्षेत्र संकटमा

NEPAL: Rebels accused of running parallel government Reuters AlertNet, UK
Nepal government begins crackdown on gays Daily News & Analysis, India
Nepal Maoists vow to keep up their protests Hindustan Times, India

मधेशी सांसदहरुद्धारा संसदको वहिष्कार

भदौं २७, पुनःस्थापना भएको प्रतिनिधिसभाको बैठक २७ साउनमा पहिलो पल्ट सत्ताधारी दलले नै बहिष्कार गरेका छन्। मधेशी समुदायले २६ भदौंमा गरेको प्रदर्शनमा प्रहरीले गरेको हस्तक्षेपको विरोधमा सत्तासाझेदार दल नेपाल सदभावना पार्टी आनन्दीदेवी र विपक्षिदल नेपाल सदभावना पार्टीले बहिष्कार गरेका हुन। वहिष्कार गर्नेमा नेसपाका यज्ञजित शाह र मृगेन्द्रकुमार सिंह तथा आनन्दीदेवीका राजेन्द्र महतो छन्। नागरिकता लगायत मधेशी हितका विषयमा निषेधित क्षेत्र सिंहदरवार अगाडी प्रदर्शन गरेका मधेशी समुदायको प्रदर्शनमा प्रहरीले हस्तक्षेप गर्दा कयौं घाईते र गिरफ्तार भएका थिए। मधेशी महिलामाथि पुरुष प्रहरीले लाठि प्रहार र दूर्व्यवहार गरेको प्रदर्शनकारीको आरोप छ। "३ महिनादेखि अरुले धर्ना र तालाबन्दी गर्दा लाठी चार्ज नहुने। मधेशीले गर्दा दमन गर्ने?" आक्रोशित स्वरमा महत्तोले भने, "मधेशीहरुको निम्ति लोकतन्त्र नआए जस्तो लाग्यो। के लोकतान्त्रिक आन्दोलनमा मधेशीको योगदान छैन्?" नेपाली काङग्रेस, जनमोर्चा नेपाल, नेका प्रजातान्त्रिकका सांसदहरुले पनि उक्त हस्तक्षेपको बिरोध गरेका छन्। सरकारले २६ भदौंमा निषेधित क्षेत्रमा हुने गरेका प्रदर्शन कडाईका साथ रोक्ने निर्णय गरेको थियो। त्यसैदिन सरकारले हाल जारी प्रदर्शनहरुलाई सम्बोधन गर्न उपप्रधानमन्त्री अमिक शेरचनको अध्यक्षतामा उच्चस्तरिय समिति गठन गरेको थियो।

Hands Off The Madhesi Activists

Phirangee

Bob Seger was right!!
Friday, Sep 01, 2006 01:49

Today has been one of those days that I think I will likely look back upon for the rest of my life.

I began my surreptitious border crossing adventure yesterday at approximately 4pm, when I said my goodbyes to SC and Vishnu and hopped into a tuk-tuk bound for the New Delhi railway station. SC had himself just returned from a week-long trip to visit his mother, and made it back only a few minutes before I left. With Vishnu in particular though it felt like a real goodbye, as we’d spent the last week "running the place" in SC's absence--cooking food for each other, watching cheesy Indian television together, and in a particularly illicit moment even sharing a beer.

My train left New Delhi only a few minutes late and I found the "AC2" accommodations quite comfortable, though I still didn’t manage to sleep much. We arrived in Gorakhpur (kind of near the Indian/Nepal border) at around 7am, where I caught a 2-hour jeep ride to the border. The jeep's driver snagged me right off the train, baiting me w/ “Rs100 just one passenger.” After talking with a few other drivers and some police officers, I got him down to Rs80, but he still ended up with the last laugh as “just one passenger” turned into 12 people in a jeep that could probably comfortably seat about half that many; so basically I traded numbness in my buttocks and legs and some Nepali kid falling asleep on my shoulder for Rs20.

Upon reaching the border I was again descended upon by a hungry flock of vultures, like the carrion I am, and made the error of walking away with the most vocal, aggressive one. He took me, on his bike rickshaw, first to Indian customs (“oh shit, please don’t notice the switchblade in my pocket!”), then to the Nepalese visa office. From there, he took me, against my request, to a travel agency, where they proceeded to inform (read: lie to) me that I had to book a bus through them and could not just buy a ticket at the bus stand. Note to self: you can always just buy a ticket at the bus stand, or on the side of the road anywhere along the route, for that matter. So they basically fleeced me for a couple hundred extra Nepali Rs, and I still tipped the vulture another Rs40 for biking me around and looking after my stuff. What a good tourist (sucker) I am.

One more short jeep ride later I finally made it to the bus stand, and though a bit bewildered, the bus owner seemed more than happy to let me ride up top on the luggage rack (one more seat inside for him to sell, after all). The bus ride was a long one, as we left the border at probably 11:30am and didn’t arrive in Kathmandu till after 8pm. Several people, including the bus owner and some random German kid, joined me up top for different parts of the ride, but I was the only person who made the entire trip. I could tell by the looks (and cheers!) I got all along the route that a Westerner up top was a quite uncommon sight, although I saw plenty of Nepalis doing it. Though I spent the next several hours in constant fear for my life, and acquiring yet another horrific sunburn, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Without question, Nepal gives Cuba stiff competition for the “absolutely most gorgeous place on planet Earth” contest. In fact, I’m already scheming about coming back and doing this route again, but maybe on foot/bike next time.

So I’m absolutely enamored with Nepal, at least based upon the bus ride and the experience thus far. The air just feels different here. I saw more spectacular scenery (and, I might add, more absolutely gorgeous women) on just an 8-hour bus ride than I think I’ve ever seen before. And the character of the place just seems totally different than India, or at least Delhi. Way more laid-back and fun-natured. Honestly, the word “paradise” just keeps surfacing.

On the flip side, Kathmandu seems, at least on first impression, to be even a bit more broke-down than Delhi. If this perception is correct, perhaps that’s a result of not being the capital city of a colonialist power, as Delhi was. There are also no shortage of men here who seem very eager to “help,” which is difficult for me to take on face value given the India experience. I gave the Louisiana brothers that I met in McLeod Ganj (Daniel & Mike) a call upon my arrival, and it initially sounded as though their guest house was full. When I asked them for other housing suggestions however, they offered to bunk up together and give me one of their rooms. Some fine Southern hospitality, even way over here on the other side of the planet, and the perfect ending to a near-perfect day.

In any event, 3 days in Kathmandu before heading off to Lhasa. We’ll see how it goes…


Pilgrimages, Politics, and Southern Hospitality
Monday, Sep 04, 2006 06:09

I was quite fortunate to have connected with Daniel and Mike Smith, two rockin’ Louisiana boys far from home but quite at home in the world. I met these fellers in McLeod Ganj at the Dalai Lama’s teachings, and they too assured me that Nepal was not only safe, but a grand destination. Like myself, Mike is a Fulbright scholar, and he’ll be based in Chapagaon, Nepal for the next several months.

Aside from just being fun fellas to hang out with, both of them have spent a significant amount of time in different parts of Asia, and gave me lots and lots of mini-lessons in Eastern religion, Asian culture, and language during the few days we spent exploring Kathmandu together.

With Mike being a religions scholar, much of our tourist activity revolved around sacred sites in Kathmandu, and there are sacred sites a’plenty. We visited a sacred Tibetan Buddhist site called the Boudha Nath Stupa (the world’s largest stupa at a whopping 36 meters high) and the Holy Area of Pashupati Nath (a sacred Hindu site), both part of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Area. After a full day of holiness, we found ourselves in need of blowing off a little steam, so we wandered through Tamil (the backpacker section of Kathmandu, similar to Paharganj in New Delhi), sampling the local delicacies or just sitting around in a Nepali bar drinking shite beer and watching hordes of drunken Nepali men engage in what someone called “homosociality” on the dance floor.

There was also a political element to my visit to Kathmandu (of course!) that was facilitated by my old college buddy Paramendra. Paramendra is a “Madhesi,” an “ethnic minority” group in Nepal that has been heavily discriminated against. I’ve heard Paramendra compare the situation of Madhesis in Nepal to that of African Americans throughout U.S. history. Paramendra, who has been residing in the U.S. since graduating from Berea, has been working full-time on helping to build democracy back home in Nepal, and has cultivated many contacts there as a result. Mike and Daniel are both pretty politically-astute fellas, so the three of us spent a day trying to track down and meet with some of Paramendra’s contacts. Ram, the owner of the guest house where Mike, Daniel, and I are staying, is also a Madhesi, and he joined us for part of the day as well (details and pics are forthcoming, P, I promise!!).

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the incredibly significant political events that have transpired in Nepal in recent months, I’d recommend checking out United We Blog! for a Democratic Nepal. Basically, a revolution has taken place in which the Nepali people have decided they’d much rather live in a republic than a monarchy, and they’ve not so politely asked the King to step down. Now they just have to navigate some sticky areas including when, whether, and how new elections will be held, disagreements over the ultimate fate of the monarchy, and when, whether, and how the Maoist insurgents and the Nepali army are going to disarm. Obviously there’s lots more to it than that, and I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface, but between what I’ve read on my own and what I’ve learned from Mike and Paramendra, I grasp that it’s an important moment in Nepali, and global, history, and I’m excited to have gotten to have a peek. Hopefully more peeks to come…

All in all, I found Kathmandu a fascinating, enjoyable city, probably more so than any city I’ve visited thus far, and would very much like to return there some time. Actually, that pretty much goes for Nepal as a whole—-this visit was far too short. I finished my last night in Nepal back at the guest house, passing on a ton of hip-hop to Ram and packing up my belongings. As excited as I was to get the next leg of my trip underway, I was also pretty bummed to leave.

Moonlight over Qomolangma
Monday, Sep 11, 2006 05:59

Bright and early on the fifth, a driver met me at the house and took me to the meet-up site for the trip to Lhasa. We loaded our luggage up top, took our seats, and got underway probably shortly after 6 a.m.. Again, the drive through Nepal was gorgeous. We drove up, up, up into the clouds, through a landscape rife with lush mountainscapes and an astonishing number of waterfalls.

As expected (and even somewhat hoped for), our bus was stopped by Maoist insurgents, who demanded Rs500 (approx. $6.60) toll from each passenger. I was somewhat put off however, by their complete lack of showmanship: a 13-year old boy with a Che’ t-shirt and a worn-out looking older feller that I could have easily taken—no guns, no ambush, and really not even any threats except the threat of inevitable delay, as our tour guides and driver seemed uninterested in busting through the “blockade.” Apparently I wasn’t the only one who was put off—nearly all the Spanish and Chinese tourists refused to pay the toll. I tried to explain to the Spaniards what was happening in my broken Spanish, but they actually understood quite well and were simply being obstinate—referring to the Maoists as “vandals” and “drug addicts.” At some point, our tour guide became quite upset, and told the Spaniards they would have to pay up or get off the bus. For a moment I wondered if this might be some sort of a scam that he had a part in. Finally I became quite bored and annoyed with our little stand-off and simply climbed out my window and up to the roof of the bus, where I relaxed in the sun until the stand-off had ended (eventually I guess the Maoists were willing to settle for significantly less, and I think several people still managed to get away without paying anything).

The young Spaniard who had been most argumentative (and who looks a lot like Che’ himself) and the tour guide joined me on the roof shortly thereafter and we proceeded to get to know one another and have a nice political discussion. It turns out that the tour guide (who’s of Tibetan descent and is probably only a 2nd generation Nepali) not only doesn’t care much for the Maoists, but actually still favors the monarchy—a rarity amongst Nepalis these days, especially young ones. As for my own perspective on the Maoists and why I was so willing to pay up, well, I guess I am just feeling a lot more awkward in the role of tourist than most folks seem to be. Having grown up in a tourism-centered economy and seeing firsthand what that can mean in terms of inequality, commodification, and detriment to one’s home, I kind of feel like natives have a right to fleece the tourists. And of course, any tourist with a survival instinct will resist being fleeced, but I think they should do so with the double-consciousness of one who is both exploited and exploiter.

In terms of the Maoists, well, I’d definitely be interested in hearing how many Nepalis might respond to this assertion, but I actually perceive them to have played a positive role in the overthrow of the monarchy; i.e., I doubt if the “April revolution” could have happened if the Maoists weren’t already controlling a significant chunk of the countryside and hadn’t been waging concerted warfare on the monarchy for some time. Not to say that I agree completely with their politics, but I certainly have enough respect for them to pay up when I pass through territory that they control and have wrested from the central government at the cost of their lives. Monarchy anywhere is tyranny—screw the monarchy!

So anyway, political disagreements aside, we three fellers had a beautiful, enjoyable ride together up there on the roof, passing by the highest bungee jump site in the world, and were eventually joined by several other passengers. We arrived at the Nepal/China border, lugged our belongings through customs (much less hassle than I’d expected), and met up with our Tibetan tour guides. From there we began what would be a pretty rough drive through western Tibet. Between the road conditions, the dodgy food and hotels (the place in Nylam where we stayed the first night was particularly awful), and the dramatic changes in altitude, I spent much of these first few days feeling like someone with a really bad hangover. A combination of fatigue, insomnia, dizziness, heavy, incurable headaches, and difficulty breathing—altitude sickness ain’t nothin’ to mess with.

From Nylam, the trip proceeded pretty much as before, the hotels and roads fortunately increasing in quality as we proceeded. We made stops along the way to visit some Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and a cool-looking old fort near Gyantse that was built around 1400 A.D. From Gyantse, we made one last full-day drive to Lhasa, again taking a serious off-road course most of the way. That last day we went through two sizable passes, and also stopped off at the gorgeous Yamdrok Tso, or Turquoise Lake. We finally arrived in Lhasa on the 10th, most of us pretty worn out and a bit testy, but also happy to be done with the drive.

All in all, in the span of less than a week, we went from an altitude of 2300m in Kathmandu, to a high of over 5200m near Lhatze, and back “down” to 3650m here in Lhasa (which is still one of the world’s highest cities, apparently). I have no idea how many miles we’ve traveled, though it feels epic. I think that I’ve finally acclimatized, at least in the sense that I can sleep pretty well now and am no longer having frequent dizzy spells, though I’m obviously nowhere near the level of Sarah, a well-traveled British woman in our tour group who I found out ran a half-marathon yesterday. I still get winded incredibly easily and have little energy beyond that required of our tour schedule.

The other good thing about arriving in Lhasa is that it has a sizable airport, hence providing me with a cover story as to how I made my way here from Delhi. So from this point we’ll switch back to the regularly-scheduled programming at my other travel log, where I can fill you in on all the exciting details about Lhasa and the last leg of my overland journey to Beijing. If you don’t have that address, just let me know and I’ll send it to you. Hope you’ve enjoyed my “Himalayan Hangover.”

Yours truly,
Ammon Hennessey


Jason Fults

Story:

I took a few of my own meandering gaits around town, walking down streets that turned into rock that turned into dirt that turned into empty, grassy lots, then back into city. Along the way I sampled some yummy street food and got my first Nepali haircut. It was probably the most physically intimate experience I’ve ever had with another man. Aside from some serious precision work with the scissors and straight razor, brother-man busted out some sort of cream afterwards and gave me a full-on head/face massage. I had thought he was finished once he put the razor away, and stood up to pay when he said “sit please” and proceeded to massage away. Intense—I was light-headed when I left the place.

I like the small town feel of Kathmandu, at least this section of it. Though from what folks have told me, the city is growing at an uncontrollable rate and the infrastructure is not keeping up. This story seems to be a common one amongst major cities in the developing world.

Story:

On our political field trip, we first visited Vijay at JAGHRIT Nepal, an NGO which works for the rights of Madhesis. We chilled there for about an hour and I recorded the conversation. We then found our way to the Nepal Sadbhawana Party office, a political party which stands for Madhesi rights, among other things. Unfortunately, no one there spoke much English, but we were shuffled into a room full of apparent leaders of the Nepali youth movement (the NSP office also houses the Nepal Youth Front). We had quite a broken conversation with them—-part Nepali, part English—-but translation difficulties aside there was a lot of energy in the room and I really enjoyed meeting them. I mean, these kids, within just a few weeks of our visit, had been out in the streets fighting with cops, had been to jail, and had probably had friends who were seriously injured or perhaps even killed in the struggle. But they’d won! Incredible!