A new interim government is about to be formed. That means the entire cabinet will be reorganized. The Home Minister might have had to go regardless.
Girija is like a stopped clock that is right two times a day. For one, he is sick. I wonder how much time he puts into work daily. And what exactly does work mean to him? Sit in bed Mao style and get his close circle to read him out the papers?
This confrontation he has invited is unnecessary. But now he is faced with it.
His tieing Congressi Madhesi Mahantha Thakur's hands and sending him out to pasture, setting him up for failure, is telling of his anti-Madhesi prejudice.
Perhaps what Girija is lacking is not political skill, although that he is, but rather an attitude that Madhesis are equal to Pahadis. Girija is a Khas guy. He knows where his loyalties lie. That he has anointed Krishna Sitaula, another Khas, as the leader among the third generation Congressis is no accident. This is tribal politics.
The enormous Khas resistance to the Madhesi Janajati Movement perhaps should not come as a surprise. The Khas are the powers that be in all seven Pahadi parties. The titanic struggle was perhaps inevitable.
Girija is not committed to the idea of a republic. He is not committed to federalism. The Khas in general are not committed to federalism. The Kathmandu media has been publishing anti-federalism articles one after another. All sorts of ridiculous arguments are being made against federalism by some top names in the diaspora. Political logic has been shunted, they are busy spewing Khas prejudice.
My logic has been simple. Are you for democracy? People say yes. Are you for federalism? Many people find it hard to say no. And then you lose them. They might pay lip service to federalism, but their heart is not into it. Even those who say they are for federalism are dead set against ethnic federalism.
In my mind, the solution is simple. If you are for democracy and federalism, you should let the people decide as to what shape that federalism should take. You produce your map, I produce mine. And we both go to the people. But the parties basically have refused to produce maps. Therein lies their dishonesty. And that is why the Madhesi and the Janajati are so suspicious of the Khas parties. The Maoists have a map, but they are not really for federalism as we might know it. And even their map is suspect. They have a Tharuwan, and a Tamuwan, and so on, but there is no Khasan for the Khas. The hills and the mountains in the west should be Khasan. That is a mindgame on the part of the Khas leaders of the Maoist party. They think of themselves as universal, as neutral. They are not ethnics, the rest are. That just is not true. We are all ethnics.
The fermentation of the Madhesi Janajati Movement has been necessary. The fog of Khas prejudice is too thick. That prejudice does not seem to respond to political logic, and hence the need for street action.
पुरे देशको प्यारालाइज कर दो
Nepalgunj II: This Is A Repeat
Eighth State: Khasan
Arato: Well Meaning But Away From Ground Realities
माअोवादी तानाशाही मुर्दाबाद
A Nepali Diaspora Milestone
िगिरजाको कुर्सी से हटा दो, सेरेमोिनयल बना दो
Federalism As A Formula
Janakpur Madhesis Demand Federal Republic Nepal
Paramendra Mention In Nepali Times By Kashish
Two Things To Do To Prevent April Kranti III
अगर सडक पर िफर से उतडनी पडी तो
Ram Manohar Sah: Himalayan Double Standard
Bahun Federalism Is No Federalism At All
Nepal Sarkar Needs To Set Up A Tribunal
Krishna Sitaula's Resignation: Why It Is Important
Of Hindu Supremacists And Muslim Martyrs
In The News
Bandh cripples life nationwide NepalNews nationwide shutdown (bandh) called by the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NFIN) to pressurise the government to fulfill its 24-point demands. ...... ethnic autonomy, federal system, linguistic freedom, proportional representation in the constituent assembly and guarantee of self determination ..... Market places, education institutions remained closed and the streets were deserted in the capital and most of the major towns across the country. ..... In Kathmandu valley, all the bazaar areas, educational institutions and industries remained closed. Only a few shops were open in some inner parts of the valley. All the vehicles remained off the road. Only press vehicles, ambulances and blue plated vehicles (UN and diplomats) could be seen in the roads. ..... markets in Nuwakot, Rasuwa, Dhading, Sindhupanchowk, Kavre, Palpa, Dhankuta and other districts remained closed. Members of the NFIN were deployed from early morning in these districts to make the strike successful. ...... Mahendra, Prithvi and other highways also did not see any vehicles plying. All vehicles running long and short distances are at a standstill. ..... the Tharu Kalyankarini Sabha called bandh in four eastern districts ...... life in Sunsari, Siraha, Saptari, Mahottari, Dhanusha, Rautahat, Morang remained affected due to weeklong strike called by the Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum. Customs points also remained closed in these districts. ...... Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) has said that such bandhs will have large impact in the national economy PM concerned about Maoist arms, discussion for interim govt begins declare the arms of the Maoists not registered with the UN as illegal. ..... Maoists may not join the interim government without respectable ministries
Moriarty meets Nepal
Maoists should get ‘respectable position’ in interim govt: Prachanda The Maoists are said to have been demanding important portfolios like senior Deputy Prime Minister, Information and Communication and Home Ministry in the forthcoming interim government. ..... the Maoists had no objection to postponing the CA polls by a few months if the parliament agrees to declare Nepal a republic. .... the eight parties had started discussion for declaring republican setup in Nepal through the Interim Parliament itself. .... his party would soon issue a White Paper regarding its business policies.
SAC agrees to finalise election related bills soon
Mistakes of the Government Kantipur the political chaos we have been witnessing after the Madhesi Movement. ..... Promulgation of an interim constitution that was inherently flawed and not up to the expectations of the people can be considered the seed of all the present problems. ..... the anti-Madhesi stratum of the government. ...... who is supposed to investigate, prosecute and punish if the crime of murder is committed- a party or the government? ...... Accusing them of trying to weaken the government can be as ridiculous as it can get in a democratic society. ..... Everybody knows how long it took and how many compromises the government had to make to bring the Maoists to the negotiation table. Why not make some compromises this time too? ...... What the government should have done is to make a Madhesi the home minister. ...... The MJF has put forward three pre-conditions for talks: resignation of the home minister, formation of a high level probe commission and punishment to those who are found guilty of suppressing the Madhesi Movement. It is striking that the MJF should not even have had to ask for the latter two conditions. ...... Formation of probe commissions has taken place after each movement in Nepal. What is different this time? Is there something to hide? .... the government shows so much promptness to form a commission to probe an incident of stone pelting on the Mercedes of Gyanendra. ..... Lena Sundh, representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (HCHR) in Nepal, points towards the need of an impartial investigation into the deaths, injuries and destruction of property in Terai during the Madhesi Movement
Govt-Maoist discuss interim govt, CA polls
CA election dates will be announced by Thursday: Prachanda
NFIN-called banda affects life in capital, other parts
Each family in Karnali to get employment
King to vanish from Rs 1000, Rs 500 notes
Gas dealers press NOC to regularize supply
Two killed in Maoist-MPRF clash Seventh grader Khohade Kori, 14, was killed in the attack by Maoists while they were chasing MPRF cadres, according to locals. Another Madhesi activist Koili Kori succumbed to injuries in a hospital last night. ..... Following clashes with MPRF cadres in several places, the Maoists were compelled to move the mass meet venue from the local stadium to the ground of Tondon Rice Mills. Peoples' turnout in the mass meet was significantly lesser than what organizers had expected .... Dr Baburam Bhattarai claimed that Maoist should get the leadership for building a New Nepal.
CPN-M wants new govt in a day or two, govt in no hurry
