NDF Owner, Stop This Nonsense, Reinstate Immediately

Nepal Democracy Forum "Moderators":
Disqualified To Particpate In Democracy Movement

In The Quest For Social Justice Feelings Are Going To Get Hurt

This hide and seek game the Nepal Democracy Forum "moderators" seem to like to play has entered its second round. I just noticed I have been kicked out again, for a second time. What happened?

Pramod Aryal, who otherwise has done some good work on the medical services project, posted a crybaby thread a few evenings before basically saying, it is me or Paramendra Bhagat, take a pick, or kick me out. Aryal decided he was going to be a martyr for Bahunbaad. He was going to sacrifice his place at the forum. He could have done it quietly. You don't need a moderator to help you do that. You can simply unsubscibe. But no, he was going to go down in style. He was instead back within hours.

Pramod Aryal and Deepak Khadka are like the Pahadi/Bahun attack dogs at the forum. Their latest attacks were directed towards Jeetendra Joshee, who just so happens to be chairing the Nepalese Americas Council which is the umbrella organization for all Nepali organizations in America. Both have at other times made some important contributions on specific topics at the forum. But they got to create the stink at the same time. Some of the most ridiculously personal attacks come from these two.

And then there are these hitherto unnamed underworld dons called moderators. There is no moderating going on at the forum. There have only been free flowing conversations. But these unnamed individuals call themselves moderators. They might have started this group, which is free of charge, and takes about 30 seconds to do, it is not exacly like climbing Mount Everest. And they have managed to compile an impressive list of individuals there who like to think of themselves as some kind of a Who's Who, many for sound reasons, several for dubious reasons.

These so-called moderators and a few who create stink come across as Girija's disciples to me. They outright get a failing grade from me when it comes to transparency, internal democracy and such within a group professing to work towards democracy.

A group that does not believe in free speech can not possibly be fighting for free speech, and free speech is the most fundamental of all democratic principles. A group that does not practice internal democracy can not possibly be fighting for democracy. And prejudiced Pahadis/Bahuns are enemies of social justice, so also enemies of democracy itself. There is to be no democracy without social justice.

These so-called moderators, I guess they could legitimately call themselves founders, but they are no moderators. Moderators are those who moderate. I seem to have been doing that. Call me a moderator, if you intend to be accurate. I have been the most voluminous contributor at the forum. This month my volume has been twice as much as the second person in line whose volume has been five times of the fifth person in line. That would make me the most active "legislator" in the "parliament."

But then I have also been the one most involved in action, in terms of helping execute the various projects. The one project I have been most actively involved with has been the one that has seen the most progress on the ground. Coincidence? You want to wish there were more people like me at the forum. But these primitive, retarded Pahadis/Bahuns stand confused. They like the sound of democracy, but not the feel of it. Their prejudice is their identity: they have no other.

I have been the origin or the conduit of some of the best ideas. The medical services idea originated in a phone conversation I had with Lilamni Pokharel. He was the first person to have blurted it. Now this group is big on the idea. But it has taken the group two weeks to produce one letter. Their social primitiveness is way behind the technology at hand. The technology says simply email to the Nepal Medical Association. But no, they want a hard copy with signatures. And it takes them about a week to collect two signatures, which they had still not collected the last I checked.

These are Pahle Aap, Pahle Aap people. Their ego comes first. They are not in tune with the movement in Nepal. Their first obeisance is to some kind of a social hierarchy they imagine to exist among the Nepalis in America: I recognize none. If anything, they come across as inferior neanderthals to me, wallowing in their thick soup of Pahadi/Bahun prejudice, unwilling to let go. These people need to grow up. That is what.

If the movement came first, this so-called letter to the NMA would have been composed and emailed within 24 hours of when the idea first originated. By now each of the 116 members would have coughed up $100 each, which is a pittance for literally every Nepali in America, even those who work illegally, below minimum wage. But these brown sahibs, they talk tall, they profess they are willing to donate $1000, maybe even "life savings." It takes literally about two minutes to send money online.

So 24 hours to compose and send a letter, another week to prepare the budget and the plan at the other end in Kathmandu, and that much to raise the money at this end. But we are still at the letter writing phase. Enough egos have not been massaged. These people are not revolutionaries raring to contribute to the cause of democracy in Nepal. These are homesick people who want to talk endlessly about Nepal, as a way to connect among themselves. If not, they would be interested in producing results.

They get a failing grade on social progressive thinking. They fare even worse on group dynamics, and effective project implementation, and things like that. Look at some of the ideas these geniuses have come up with recently.

1. Take two weeks to write a one page letter to be sent to the NMA: You would think they are about to write something of the same gravitas as the Communist Manifesto or the Declaration Of Independence.
   
2. Expect most of the fundraising to be done in Kathmandu: And so you are going to contribute exactly how? You think they can't come up with ideas for first aid back there in Kathmandu? Or that they need to be prodded before they will do it on their own? It has been my experience it is these armchair intellectuals who need all the prodding, who are bereft of concrete ideas to help the movement.
   
3. Have donors send money directly to Kathmandu, one at a time: That makes no sense. You will not have any way to tell if the money is being raised or not. That bank transfer is much harder than the one over PayPal. You lose a lot of money in transfer fees. It makes so much more sense to collect money in one pool and then send the big chunk all at once. But this is what I call one of those x-ray ideas. This idea helps you measure the anti-Madhesi prejudice among the neanderthals. I am the one taking the lead on fundraising so far. I am the one who first brought the PayPal idea. I am the one who cut the deal with MoneyToNepal.com to reduce the transfer fees to near zero. I am the one who has basically agreed to literally every fundraising idea that anyone ever raised. But then all that makes it look like I am the leader, doesn't it? That really causes some serious heartburn among these neanderthals.
   
4. No to book keeping: This is sheer genius. You don't want to keep track of money at this end, and you don't want to keep track at the other end. This idea is mainly being propagated by those who have specific individuals from their personal circles in mind. You want to send money to them and keep them unaccountable. That is alarming, to say the least. We are talking about serious amounts of money here. You owe it to the movement and to the donors to keep track of all the money. I can understand you can not disclose all the names. But that does not apply to the money raised and spent. And there can be various levels to the transparency. If seven individuals get together and come around a mini project and contribute $1000 each, and they want to keep all the book keeping among themselves, is that okay? Sure. The rest of us just get to see the end product. But that does not apply to money raised $20, $100 at a time from many individuals, and spent Rs 1000, Rs 2000 at a time in Kathmandu.

Other than the Pahadi/Bahun fog of prejudice, the biggest roadblock is the technology says cloud model, but these neanderthals want to keep bringing back the pyramid model, the only model of organizing they ever learned. These so-called moderators imagine themselves to be chairing the whole thing, even when their contributions are near to nil to date. They imagine themselves the constitutional monarchs of the Nepali diaspora.

They just don't get it. They don't get the cloud model. I explained it once: The Cloud Model, Not The Pyramid Model. It is simpler than the pyramid model. But I guess habits of mind die hard.

Let me try again.

There is no leader. There are five specific projects with no barriers to entry at any level. The more the merrier. All discussions and book keeping are to stay transparent, some to the whole world, some to only members of the projects. Any person's glow is directly related to that peson's activity level. The most active will glow the brightest. It is possible there will end up five, or six or 10 very bright stars in the galaxy. It need not be one. There is absolutely no hierarchy.

The third roadblock is plain jealousy. These are all amateurs. They are literate politically, but they are not sophisticated. The number one symptom of their ignorance is for them to think politics is just common sense. The truth is politics is way more complicated than chemistry. Of every Nepali in the diaspora, I am number one in the field. For them it might be hobby, for me it is career. That really seems to upset them. The last straw might have been this post: Nepal Message To Top Democrats.

This latest kickout has been the unity of the dumb.

Curiously, very few of the people active with the five projects are active at this forum. This group is not even good at issuing press statements, the only thing it has been doing so far. The heck with them. It is about three loudmouths talking to each other endlessly in circles.

Progressive Nepal

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December 11 Sunday 11 AM Union Square

Every Sunday 11 AM Union Square

The first time it was Anil Shahi, Sanjaya Parajuli, Sarahana Shrestha and me and it was in Chinatown. The next time it was the same group and the location was Union Square. The one after that was at Binay Sah's place. It was cold, and free lunch is a tempting proposition. That is when I met Ritesh for the first time. Then the invitation was extended to three other people, but only a total of two showed, one was out of town, a second had prior engagements, two were working, and so on: so Divita Mehta and I talked. She bought me MoMo. For this one four showed, although one was out of town, and three others were lined up to show. Sarahana called saying noone responded to her email when she asked if others were coming. She just might have overslept! Anil is out in New Hampshire attending a wedding. Binay is on call. Divita, Ritesh and I have another get together Tuesday evening.

The last major Nepali event in town was Rajeev Goyal's fundraiser, but I had to miss that for another DFNYC event. I donated to the Goyal fund online. (Lampson, Mistry, Dance-a-thon, LinkUp) In hindsight, I should have missed the DFNYC event and saved myself $75!

We don't have pictures from the prior events. I am glad Ritesh brought along his camera.

Mr. Sanjaya Parajuli was in attendance, Master Sanjaya Parajuli stole the show, and Ritesh Chaudhary was the guest of honor. Ritesh is a techie from Janakpur. He knows people in far away places who read this blog!

Over the weekend I had managed to mess up my body clock, so I was mostly twisting and turning in bed most of the night. I was able to catch a few hours of nap in early morning after I got out of bed and helped myself to Ramen noodles.

It was a nice day, although how nice I found out only after I got to Union Square. No wind, a lot of sun. But then we went indoors into Starbucks - Sanjaya bought me coffee - and by the time we came out, the sun was a goner.

Sanjaya showed up with his son. We had a pleasant conversation. We touched many bases. I was raring to maybe visit local Nepalis into their homes, call people, do phone banking if lists be available. He cautioned it might be better to instead grow this Sunday 11 AM crowd, a little at a time.

I have been writing to people in Boston and DC to replicate. And then to smaller towns across the country where people would hold the meet inside living rooms, take pictures and send them all to one central location online.

It is a nice social activity in its own right. But it is also important solidarity expression.

I brought up the topic of moving beyond the usual crowd of the politically active or those with white collar jobs, although there are many Nepalis who work blue collar jobs locally below minimum wage who might have advanced degrees from back in Nepal or India or elsewhere. The problem is they also tend to work crazy hours. It would be hard for them to show up.

I hope fundraisers will be held in living rooms for them at times of their convenience. I know that crowd parties hard. I have been to a few. Perhaps we can keep expanding our network. There is something called the cellphone.

Anil tells me there are more than 15,000 Nepalis in New York City.

Sanjaya and I touched many other bases. We talked about the projects we and others are involved with. Sanjaya threw in some important insights as to how there is more than one way to go about the projects. Transparent, online book keeping makes little sense for the clandestine projects. True. There are some mini projects that noone will know anything about. Only the end products will get seen. There will be few donors, all anonymous, each potentially big, as in $1000 each, and if there be book keeping, it will stay within that really small group, and for safety purposes, the names of the people actually carrying out the work in Kathamandu will not be circulated even among that small group of donors. I totally bought into what Sanjaya explained to me. Whatever works. As long as the work gets done, there has to be more than one way of doing it.

Ritesh arrived about 20 minutes late. By then Sanjaya, his son and I had already moved on to the coffee shop. Usually I am not big on coffee. It is social drinking for me.

The three of us had long, expansive talks on many different topics, very few of them to do with the Nepal movement. In the mean time Master Parajuli explored the nooks and corners of the coffee shop.

We mostly talked of globalization and how it impacts countries like Nepal and India, especially in how it impacts us and people we know. We talked India and China. There were the stories we had.

Then we dispersed. The Parajulis took off, and Ritesh and I went for MoMo. Darbar East is nice that way. Dhrubaji likes to engage in political talk.

Then we walked over towards Times Square. It was getting cold, but it was worth it. Ritesh knew of this shop where he wanted to buy a sweater. I ended up buying a winter cap and a pair of gloves. The prices were low. I like my prices low. I am a Walmart kind of guy.

Then it was adios until Tuesday, "7:45ish," for Ritesh and me.

We got to grow from four to 10 to 40 to more. Spread the word. When Nepal hits the world headlines, local media will come to us. That attention will further help the movement.

NAC Goes Proactive

Jeet Joshi ji.

What took you so long?

Kidding. Not really.

But, sincerely, thanks.

Action is good. Any and all action in "that" direction is good.

The NAC Executive Committee is a recognized body of individuals. Although many of those individuals are members of this ND forum, the NAC has an independent identity. I am so very glad you all came out with this action.

Do more of this and more often. Keep firing off press statements. Develop a rapid response mechanism. Write to more bodies and individuals. Write to EU, to China, to Venezuela. Write, write, write.

Every act of state repression has to be hit back with a NAC press statement. Strike back within hours at best, within 24 hours at most. More than 24 hours and it looks stale.

List names of all member organizations. List names of all members of the Board. That is how you make it LOUD.

Maybe assign one person to immediately draft letters when events take place. Then circulate over email and give people about 6 hours to respond. And fire off. Let the valley ring with your word bullets.

I respectfully thank you and the NAC Board. Keep up the good work.

Now let me go read the letter!

:-)





Nepalese Americas Council
P.O. Box 9883, San Bernardino, CA 92407
NAC Since 1991
Web: www.NepalCouncil.org
Phone: 909-792-0343

December 9, 2005

President Jimmy Carter
The Carter Center
One Copenhill
453 Freedom Parkway
Atlanta, GA 30307

Dear Mr. President,

On behalf of Nepalese Americas Council (NAC) and its member organizations located throughout the North American continent, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Carter Center for its continued interest in peace and democracy in Nepal.

Mr. President, as you know, a popular movement in 1990 overthrew a thirty year long autocracy in Nepal in favor of a democratic system of governance. Taking advantage of the strength of a democratic system and weakness of newly adopted system that was still in the learning phase, Maoists launched an insurgency with a publicly declared goal of establishing a communist republic.

To make the matter worse, King Gyanendra engineered a coup d'etat and took over a democratically elected government on February 1, 2005. Since then he has ignored all internal and international call for a dialogue with democratic political parties in order to restore democracy and to seek a solution by bringing the Maoists into the main stream democratic polity.

Recently, the Maoists and the democratic forces represented by seven political parties reached an understanding where Maoists have shown serious interest to participate in the multi-party democracy. They declared a three-month unilateral ceasefire. However, the royal Nepalese army commanded by the king did not reciprocate this gesture despite calls from international community, human rights organizations and activists, and Nepalese people in general.

The ceasefire declared by the Maoists ended on the first week of December 2005. On the request of democratic parties, people, human rights organizations and activists, Maoist recently agreed to extend the ceasefire for another month.

Mr. President, such a good window of opportunity to end the decade long violence and political turmoil had not been appeared before. The 12 point agreement between the political party alliance and the Maoists provides that the arms of both the Royal Nepalese Army and the Maoists to be supervised by UN or a dependable international body to ensure free and fair election to the constituent assembly. As this agreement presents a rare chance to bring peace and to restore democracy, it will be extremely unfortunate if this opportunity is lost and the country that is already at the brink of collapse enters into another deadly phase of violence.

Therefore, Mr. President, Nepalese Americas Council (NAC), its member organizations listed below and Nepalese Diaspora in the North American continent call upon you to help, either individually, or through the Carter Center, in concert or in collaboration with the United Nations, or in any other manner you feel appropriate. We also request you to consider a short personal trip to Nepal to take a political stock and to provide an impetus to the political process towards returning to peace and the restoration of civil liberties, human rights, and democracy at the earliest possible time.

Thank you.

Sincerely,


Dr. Jeet Joshee
President, Nepalese Americas Council

NAC Member Organizations and other Community Groups.Organizations:

America Nepal Friendship Society (ANFS), New York
America Nepal Society (ANS), California
Association of Nepalis in the Americas (ANA)
Association of the Nepalese in the Midwest America
Association of Nepali Terain in America (ANTA)
Florida Nepalese Association (FNA)
Greater Boston Nepali Community ( Boston)
Kaligandaki Friendship Society (KFC), Washington, D.C.
Liberal Democracy Nepal (LDN)
Nepalese Association in South East America ( NASeA)
Nepalese and Friends Association (NAFA)
Nepali Youth Organization (NYO), Washington, D.C.
Nepa Pasha Pucha Amerikaye (NPPA)
Nepal Cultural Society of B.C. (NCSBC)
Nepal Seattle Society
Nepal Community Network of Canada (NCNC)
Nepali Women’s Network of North America
NCNC( North Carolina)
Nepalese Society of Texas ( Dallas)
Nepali American Public Affairs Council (NAPAC)
Nepal Concern Group-Canada
Nepal Enterprise Forum
Nepal Democracy Forum
Rocky Mountain Friends of Nepal (Denver)
Society of Ex-Budhanilkantha Students - North America
Indira Foundation

In The Quest For Social Justice Feelings Are Going To Get Hurt

ND Dynamics
The Cloud Model, Not The Pyramid Model
ND Glasnost
Diaspora Logistical Help To The Movement
Logistics To Bring Down The Regime
To: ND Group, c/o Puru Subedi
Madhesi
Nepal Democracy Google Group Does Not Believe In Free Speech

I believe the discussions at the Nepal Democracy forum boil down to this:

(1) Join one of the five projects: Nepal 5, Nepal 1000.
(2) Critique the Proposed Constitution.

Progress is being made with all five projects. But I wish things were moving faster. And so I am going to confront one issue head on, the Madhesi-Pahadi issue.

Madhesis are a hugely marginalized group, surely in Nepal, but also in the mini Nepals in America. And the Madhesis in America need to take the lead on this, just like the Pahadis in America need to exhibit they are capable of a positive transformation on their part. They need to be working on their hearts.

I have been in New York City six months now. Before that I was in Kentucky and Indiana. And the small local Nepali communities there were not a big part of my life back there. I moved to Kentucky from Kathmandu. The anti-Madhesi fog in Kathmandu is too thick for me to have longingly hobnobbed with the local Nepalis in Kentucky, not that there were that many opportunities in the first place.

Moving to New York City alone would not have done the trick. If it were not for the democracy movement, I doubt I would have made a point to really reach out to the local Nepalis. I might have more comfortably gravitated towards the South Asian crowd. One of the better things about being in America for me has been discovering the Indian in me, giving it expression. When I travelled across America, and people asked me where I was from, I said India. Mostly they did not even ask, they just assumed, and they assumed right. I was born in India.

But the democracy movement has brought me crashing back to Nepal. In the process the biggest discovery I have made is to see again the sad political plight of the Madhesis in Nepal. The Terai is responsible for over 70% of the state revenue in Nepal, and gets less than 20% back, mostly in terms of payments for civil servants, most of whom are Pahadi in the first place. Madhesis are 50% of Nepal, and yet are super marginalized in all walks of life, kind of like the women on the planet.

So when I express my ire at the Nepal Democracy forum, I am making up for all the Madhesis that are not present at the forum. There are 116 members. Only one other is Madhesi that I know of. In a just world, you would have had 58 Madhesis. I feel like I am having to make up for the difference.

I can differentiate between the general b.s. and the anti-Madhesi prejudice. And I do exhibit that sophistication here: ND Dynamics. But there is no denying the anti-Madhesi prejudice. Just like the false anti-India-based nationalism of the Monarchists, the anti-Madhesi prejudice is a big part of the glue that brings and keeps the Bahuns/Pahadis together. It is sick. There is this utter reluctance to see a Madhesi in a leadership position, even more so if those Pahadis have to be members of any team that a Madhesi might lead. The very sugggestion is deemed offensive.

So far my interaction at the forum has been that of a foreign particle amidst white blood cells. I have listed a whole bunch of reasons why here: ND Dynamics. But the elephant in the room is the Madhesi-Pahadi issue. Of the 116 members of this self proclaimed "parliament," maybe two are Madhesi. That is even worse than the parliament that Nepal had. Looks to me like the more educated and accomplished these Pahadis/Bahuns get, more exclusive they become. The proof is in the pudding. The composition of this group is proof. And that composition generates hostility for someone like me.

It is a collective identity, individual identity thing. And I have explained that in a short story: Two Storey Building. I have also explained that on a larger scale here: A Few Diagrams.

One boring tactic is they attack you precisely because you are Madhesi, and then they go on this long trajectory about how it is nothing to do with your being Madhesi, it is about you, the individual. That is old hat. Try something a little more sophisticated. That dog is not going to hunt. And even if it is purely personal, I am putting up with it because?

These Pahadis/Bahuns are like birds that hit the glass window repeatedly in their individual career quests on a daily basis: such can be the promise of America. But then during their evenings and weekends, they find themselves in their mini Nepals. And they dig out their imported prejudices with a vengeance. They outdo their own inheritance.

I just visited the webpages of most of the prominent Nepali organizations in the US. There are hardly any Madhesi names in sight anywhere among the leadership. The Pahadis in the diaspora seem to fare even worse than the Pahadi government in Nepal. You have to ask, what is the social dynamic at play? What excludes? Why is there that 95-5 rule all places where the Madhesis interact with the Pahadis? Curiously that also applies to the diversity visa thing. That 95-5 rule applies also there.

The anti-Madhesi prejudice in Nepal is that fundamental. It is in the DNA of the country. That is why nothing less than major surgery is acceptable. Any Pahadi/Bahun against a constituent assembly and against federalism is on the other side, is an opponent, be they in Nepal or America.

I have little tolerance for Pahadis/Bahuns who talk of some kind of a personal bond, real, imagined, and/or exaggerated, that they might have with me or a few other Madhesis as evidence that things are okay, their heart is clean, Nepal is fine. You got to shift to policy talk. Federalism is that litmus test where you prove if you are for or against Madhesis.

And that is why Bahuns who drag their feet on the movement are proof these people secretly fantasize somehow the 1990 constitution can be brought back. Those are political opponents.

I am the only Nepali in America I know of who is doing movement work full time. I gave three years of my life to the Sadbhavana before I came to the US: the evil Bahuns at Budhanilkantha tried to kick me out three different times. That practically qualifies for child abuse. I got myself elected student president at college as a freshman in the Bible Belt South. I am active in local New York City politics. I don't know of any Nepali who is. I have plans for 2008. No other Nepali does. I have been working to present Nepal as the Iraq for the Democrats.

This movement in Nepal speaks to me at more than one level.

Too many individuals in other fields talk like politics is just common sense whereas rocket science is rocket science. The truth is politics is more complicated than chemistry. So, yes, politically speaking I am the most qualified Nepali in America, second to none.

People have asked this question, who is the leader at this end? I have consistently proposed a model where there is no leader. (The Cloud Model, Not The Pyramid Model) If your glow is your activity level, then I sure am the brightest star in the galaxy. If that makes me the leader, so be it. Live with it. But I insist, there truly is no leader. All discussions and book keeping stay transparent. Within that framework, every interested person can hope to get involved to the extent they want to, time permitting.

There is no pyramid, there is a galaxy, and I do come across as a bright star, don't I? Give as much time as I do, and you too can hope to become one. The problem is not that there are too many workers. It has been the other way round. So stop whining. Instead volunteer.

People instead make relentless attacks on the idea of a possible Madhesi leader. They can get really creative when doing that. Like with fundraising, there has been this major hue and cry about my first attempt. I supported all other ideas for the same, but those ideas have not been carried out, at least not yet. If your alternate ideas are better for you, go work them out. Money is green no matter how it is raised.

A few volunteer to heap verbal abuse over the phone, and get likewise response. Stick to the online forum.

Some become crybabies. When you challenge their prejudiced hearts, you really hurt their feelings. They make it sound like you deprived them of their justly due brotherly love. What instead is happening is old, prejudiced bonds are breaking, and that breaking is necessary. To make room for new, progressive, egalitarian, mutually respectful bonds. So don't whine and cry. Pick yourself up and keep moving. We are not family, but maybe we can be comrades.

This diagram helps understand. The social bonds at the bottom have to necessarily be broken so both groups - the oppressor and the oppressed - can move up to healthier interaction at the higher levels.

And then those who feign surprise, I thought he was a nice guy, he comes across as such in person. Well, this forum is work to me, hard core political work. When I say hello to you for 10 seconds, that might have been socializing.

10 Point Agreement To Succeed 12 Point Agreement

"Today's meeting of the alliance has been given added importance as this is the first meeting held after they reached the understanding with the Maoists in Delhi recently. The meeting held at the party office of Nepal Sadbhawana Party (Anandidevi) in the capital featured several issues including some of the "vague items" in the understanding reached with the rebels."

Kantipur
Prachanda Statement

If I were to rewrite the 12 point agreement, it would read as follows.

1. Today, the main desire of most Nepalis is to have democracy, peace, prosperity, social upliftment and an independent and sovereign Nepal. Toward that end, we fully agree that the main obstacle is an autocratic monarchy. Without an end to the autocratic monarchy and establishment of complete democracy we are clear that there will be no peace, progress and prosperity in the country. Therefore, we have reached an agreement that all forces against autocratic monarchy will step up their movement to end the autocratic monarchy and establish complete democracy.

2. The seven parties and the Maoists are committed to a constituent assembly elections to which will be held by an interim government functioning under an interim constitution that will make the interim prime minister the Commander In Chief of the army. Before the Maoists are invited to join the interim government, the two armies in the country are to be integrated through external mediation. If the integration not be total, foreign aid is to be sought to integrate the rest of the Maoist armed cadres into the economy. It is hoped that the integrated army will be downsized by the government that will come into power after a new parliament takes shape. The seven parties agree that the 1990 constitution is dead, and so is the 1999 House that can not exist outside the 1990 constitution. As to how to get to the interim government, a decisive movement is to be waged across the country. That might result in the king coming around to the idea of an interim government, in which case the question of monarchy will still be an issue in the constituent assembly. On the other hand, if the king be relentlessly uncompromising, the movement ends the monarchy before it forms the interim government, in which case the question of monarchy will not be an issue in the constituent assembly. It has been agreed that People’s power is the only alternative to meet the goals. This has been suggested as the interim constitution: Proposed Constitution.

3. The country wants a positive solution and a permanent peace. That is why we are committed to these goals and an end to the armed conflict through the end of autocratic monarchy, elections for the constituent assembly and the establishment of absolute democracy. The CPN (Maoist) expresses its commitment to move ahead in a peaceful new political current through this process.

4. The CPN (Maoist) makes public its commitment to clearly institutionalise the values of competitive multiparty system, civil and fundamental rights, human rights and the rule of the law. Human rights and press freedom will be respected while moving the peace process ahead.

5. The CPN (Maoist) has made the commitment to let the leaders, activists, and the people who were displaced during the armed conflict to be resettled in their homes. It has also committed that all land, houses and property seized unjustly will be returned. This will create an environment where people will be allowed to freely conduct their political activities.

6. Through self-criticism and self-evaluation of the past mistakes and shortcomings, the CPN (Maoist) is committed not to repeat those mistakes. The seven political parties have realised they made mistakes when they were in parliament and in government and have committed that they will not repeat those mistakes.

7. The talk of municipal elections and parliamentary polls is to trick the people and the international community and to legitimise the illegitimate and autocratic rule of the king. We will boycott these polls in our separate ways and urge the people to make such elections unsuccessful. But first we aim to try and bring the regime before the end of February through a continuous movement.

8. The people and their representative political parties are the real guards of nationalism. We are fully committed on the self-reliance, sovereignty, territorial integrity and national unity. It is our common duty to have friendly relations on the basis of the principle of peaceful co-existence with all the countries of the world, especially with our neighbours India and China. We urge all patriotic people to remain alert about Mandale nationalism that the king and the monarchists are preaching to the people. We also appeal to international powers to support the democratic movement against autocratic monarchy through all possible ways.

9. We urge civil society, professionals, people of all caste, communities and areas, the media, intellectuals and general Nepalis to actively participate in the people’s movement that will be conducted on the basis of our agreement that has democracy, peace, prosperity, progressive social change, freedom, sovereignty and integrity of the country as the cornerstone.

10. Past misbehaviour of the parties will be investigated, and action taken against those found guilty and the findings made public. Any problems arising will be sorted out at the concerned level or through discussion at the leadership level.

In The News

Respond to 12-point pact to restore peace in the country: Koirala NepalNews
163 army men punished for Rights violation
Remove illegal brick kilns from valley: SC
Local administration asks journos to be present before ZAO
Media ordinance is incomplete: Minister Rana
Army Chief to visit Pakistan
US concerned about rights abuses in Nepal
Torture as a violation of human rights in Nepal
Indian Foreign Secretary arriving Sunday Kantipur
Parties work to clarify 12-point understanding
Over 100 protestors detained, released later
Maoists training camp destroyed in Dhankuta: Army
Rice concerned over rights situation in Nepal
Understanding with Maoists was for peace:Koirala
Saran arriving in capital to convey Delhi's message
CMDP to reclaim Ratna Park
Maoists thwart NC mass meeting
Saran visits Nepal tomorrow, says it has potential to be rich Outlook (subscription), India
Thirty arrests at Nepal protest BBC News
Police scuffle with pro-democracy activists in Nepal Hindustan Times
Over a hundred arrested from HR Day demonstration in Nepal Asian Tribune, Thailand
Major civil unrest looms in Nepal Radio New Zealand, New Zealand
Nepal's new information minister wants fair Indian media Webindia123, India
US for democratic, prosperous Nepal: Rice NewKerala.com, India
After China, Nepal's army chief heading for Pakistan Asian Tribune, Thailand
Nepal Rules out Talks With King Himalayan Times, Nepal

ND Dynamics

I am so very glad to be part of this group, Nepal Democracy. It reminds me of the Sajha action in 2002, only with this group much more in-depth conversations are possible. I don't begrudge the group's exclusivity when it comes to its membership. The moderators are very selective in terms of who they allow and who they don't. It is supposed to be some kind of a Who's Who of the diaspora and beyond. Famous names like Kul Chandra Gautam and Kanak Mani Dixit are listed. I don't know how I got in, but it must be all that noise I create online. Besides I might be the only member of the group to have been to all 48 states in the continental US. That is my claim to fame.

Right now the group has emerged the hub of democracy action. Office holders of most of the major Nepali organizations in the US seem to be members, though there are only about 10 very active members among the more than 100. Less than five participate on a near daily basis. But I am told there are many who just like to read the stuff and not write anything. And then they talk about it offline in their respective social circles!

This group is making possible conversations that could not have been possible any other way.

Google has been indispensable to my involvement in the Nepal movement. I access most of my news from Google News. I do most of my communication through this blog, which is on Google property. And the "parliament" I am a member of is a Google group: Nepal Democracy. I still have my Yahoo email account as my primary one, or Gmail is not that far away as an option. It is hard for me to imagine my involvement without Google. If you heard rumors Google is going to take over the world, they are true!

Those are some of the nice things I have to say about the Nepal Democracy group. But I also have criticisms I would like to heap upon it.

1. The technology is designed for a cloud/galaxy model of interaction. But the mindset of many members is still stuck on the pyramid model. (The Cloud Model, Not The Pyramid Model) Once in a while appears a longing for a hiearachy. And there seem to be cliques that interact over the phone as much as at the group website. And I am all for such larger interactions. Hey, Skype now offers video calls for free.
   
2. Since there are office holders from many organizations here, many of them seem to want that respect. There are supposed to be these dons who hardly every say anything, and then once in a while come out of the woodworks and attempt to establish some kind of an authority. I find that perplexing. First, there are few people on the list that I know in person. And so when ephemeral hierarchies are formed, they are performance and activity based. This "parliament" is no House of Lords.
   
3. There is a tendency towards much talk and little action. The past few days the group has been discussing who will draft a letter to the Nepal Medical Association and how. There is a lot of preparing to prepare to prepare going on. Who will tie the bell round the cat's neck? I got impatient, drafted one, called it an attempted draft 1, and emailed it to Shambhu Thapa and Sudha Sharma, presidents respectively of the Nepal Bar Association and the NMA. Did that breach protocol? How could it have? It is called attempted draft 1. So it is not official communication.
   
4. The most the group has done in the past is issue statements. I am a new member, so I don't know, but I believe the stories which are that the group takes forever to compose press statements. By the time the statement comes out, the news has gone stale.
   
5. For the diaspora to move from thinking only moral support is to be extended to think major logistical support is also to be extended is something like the Maoists moving from communist republic to democratic republic. That is a fundamental shift. But mentally many members do not seem to have made the move. The five projects have been identified, but members are still not jumping to join the teams. The few that are working do not want to make it official. Don't get me wrong, a lot of work is being done. But the pace is slow. I wish more people stepped up to join specific project teams so we could break them into smaller groups for mini projects. And we could have a beehive of activity.
   
6. There is dysfunction. Nothing helped me understand the dynamics of the seven party coalition in Nepal like joining this group. Now I am more patient with the leaders at the other end.
   
7. My key point is this. If this is going to be a two year movement, is it not better instead to participate in the elections, and then take that new parliament to a constituent assembly? This regime has to fall before February, or there is going to be a lot of trouble in the democratic camp. I don't think the king is thinking martial law, military crackdown and all that. I think he is putting his all into the municipal polls. I just got this email from a high school friend yesterday who is in Kathmandu. The guy has registered a party! If elections are held, and there is a 35% voter turnout, then the king gets to claim two victories: that polls were held, and that protest rallies were allowed during the months leading to the polls. Two major acts of democracy right there. So if you perform a slow bleeding revolution, that actually helps the king! This Nepal Democracy group needs to feel that urgency. And even if the Maoists turn to violence to disrupt the polls, we democrats still lose. Through our internal dysfunction, we would have made that possible. (Badri Mandal: Winner) And if the municipal polls succeed, the king buys himself at least a year. Leaders talk of actively foiling the polls. Would it not be easier to get the masses out into the streets before that? Some talk of the harvest season. The time to bring down regimes is in Baisakh! Glory be upon us.
   
8. We are making these major preparations about how if there is a military crackdown, we will take the king to the Hague and stuff, but I think what we should really worry about is what if municipal polls are held! I think a continuous movement is the only one that can dislodge the regime. (Pyramid Of 10 In Kathmandu, Logistics To Bring Down The Regime)
9. Instead the momentum so far has been to hold one rally this week, another rally next week. That helps the king! All those boost his democratic credentials.
   
10. But for mass action you need clarity. There instead is this happy fog. And the Nepal Democracy group is in no hurry either. There are people who report they are working on some statement that should be ready in "two months' time." You can't possibly be serious. This revolution feels like a leisurely stroll. We must be a lucky bunch.
    

Podcast

December 8, 2005 (15 minutes) Peace, democracy and social justice have to go together. Social justice issues of the DaMaJaMa are at the center of this democracy movement. They cannot be avoided.

In The News

Media ordinance is incomplete: Minister Rana NepalNews
Army Chief to visit Pakistan
US concerned about rights abuses in Nepal
EC should not comment on political decision: Prof. Mishra
Remittance important to reduce poverty: WB report
Leaders joined govt on their own wishes: Rana
The Myths of a Constituent Assembly
Thousands rally against Nepal king BBC News, UK
India not worried by Swiss diplomacy in Nepal Webindia123
Nepal king to offer olive branch to Maoists? NewKerala.com, India
Nepal king's new minister gets boot from party NewKerala.com, India
Nepal Maoist Prevents NC to Hold Mass Meeting, Demands Share in ... NewsLine Nepal, Nepal
Maoists bar NC from organizing programme Nepalnews.com
Nepal Intellectuals Blame Monarchy for Instability NewsLine Nepal, Nepal
Supreme Court opposes government ban of BBC Nepali Service IFEX, Canada
Controversial Media Ordinance will be Reviewed: Rana Himalayan Times, Nepal

Gagan Thapa's Right To Free Speech

"Meanwhile, Gagan Thapa is to be presented to Special Court on 8 Dec. for his “Rajdroha” (treason) indictment for having insulted the Monarchy during a protest."

Samudaya.

Gagan Thapa can be as republican as he wants to be. Right to free speech is a fundamental human right and he has it. He is protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Any regime or any constitution that clashes with that fundamental human right is an illegitimate one. The 1990 constitution died several years back, and has died several times since then. This regime is about to prove its illegitimacy one more time as if the numerous times before have not been enough.

Gagan Thapa is a genuine Nepali hero. He is a gift of this movement to the Nepali people.

I look forward to this movement succeeding, democracy getting established, and Gagan Thapa coming into the parliament. Gagan Thapa has been making some major contributions to the current democracy movement. That is there. But I think the bigger contributions he will make will be after democracy has already been firmly put in place.

Nepal is being run by people who should not be running Nepal, and Gagan Thapa is proof. People who have perpetrated some major crimes against humanity are in power, whereas a non-violent democracy activist is being dragged to court. A travesty of justice is about to be carried out.

But then this democracy movement is not going the route of courts. This movement is going the route of the streets.

Taking Gagan Thapa to court is a regime hastening its demise, nothing more.

Gagan Thapa is a democrat, someone who believes in non-violence. The world is not going to sit by and watch while he gets demonized by the ruling mafia.

Girija Koirala Playing Foul By Gagan Thapa

"....a new Nepal Student Union Central Committee has been formed under the presidency of Mahendra Bista who is also regarded by many as the "dharma-putra" of Sushil Koirala...."

Gagan's Talk In New York
Girijaspeak: When Republicans Are Royalists

It is as if Girija Koirala were hoping people are too busy with the movement, perhaps they will not notice.

This is a clear case of the parent party bulleying its student organization. It is perhaps in the political culture of the country that parties sometimes do that to their students wings, but why is it that only the Congress makes the news on this issue?

When I met Gagan Thapa in person, he came across as someone very dedicated to the Nepali Congress. The parent party needs to return the favor.

Foiling the Pokhara convention was a major disservice done to the democracy movement. Many were hoping the movement would take off with a successful NSU convention in Pokhara. Girija's clique foiled that.

Sidelining Gagan Thapa is exactly the wrong thing to do, not that it is possible to sideline Gagan Thapa. Neither Gyanendra nor Girija have it in their powers to sideline Gagan Thapa.

Gagan is Girija's comrade. If Girija can not see that, I doubt his democratic credentials.

A Patronizing King And 200 Brown Shirts

200 Brown Shirts

The UML organized peaceful demonstrations on December 2. Later in the day 200 rowdy types spread terror in Kathmandu with their visits to the UML party office and Girija Koirala's residence. The regime is lucky nothing untoward happened. But the hooligans were let roam scot free. As an armed group, they violated the law. Who were those people? Why did the regime not initiate action against them?

Or is it like the king trying to suggest, remember when I put you all under house arrest after 2/1? I did that for your good, for your safety.

That attitude would be utterly patronizing.

A king sticking to his roadmap is not a king seeking dialogue and reconciliation. Maybe the dramatic loss of much of his family in 2001 has hardened his heart so much, in his mind he is playing by the book, trying hard to portray himself as someone who knows the difference between his pesonal and professional lives.

He needs to move beyond the legal and the constitutional to the political. That is his best bet, if it is not already too late.

The King's Jumbo Cabinet

One more expansion and he will have overtaken Deuba's jumbo cabinet from the 1990s.

A Slow Bleeding Two Year Movement

Some democrats talk in such terms. If the idea is to have a two year movement, it would make more sense to participate in the polls. But that has two drawbacks. One, we can not legitimize this regime. Two, we can not discount the Maoists.

So I propose a more jampacked two month movement. But it is for the people on the ground to decide.

Protests

The Cloud Model, Not The Pyramid Model

The Nepal Democracy Google group has seen a lot of productive action since December 2. Even before that I have been espousing something called a cloud model of group dynamics to coordinate the diaspora efforts for democracy in Nepal, the cloud model as opposed to the traditional pyramid model.

My Nepal 1000 page offers some more specifics. I also launched a much more private small group called Project Nepal Democracy. The latter is for clandestine work.

What is the cloud model?

1. It is internet based. In this particular case, the Nepal Democracy group is where most of the talking gets done.
   
2. There is no central authority. There is no one central leader.
   
3. The book keeping is transparent and online.
4. The discussions are transparent and online.
5. Participation is to be based on intitiative. Visibility will be performance based.
6. Six specific projects have been identified. They are listed at the Nepal 1000 page among other places.
   
7. Individuals and organizations need to take initiative to participate in one or more of the projects.
   
8. Some aspects of some projects are going to be clandestine, otherwise the rest of the work is going to be pretty much transparent.
   
9. As for credits, history is getting archived as it is being made.
   
10. Fundraising has many models. That also has a cloud model. Nepal 1000 offered an intial framework, still in place. But many other ideas have been suggested, and all of them look good. One would be for Project Managers for each project to raise money directly for their projects. Another would be for organizations like the Alliance, or the NAC, or the LDN to make it possible for people to donate on their respective websites. Another would be like got done for the DC and the NYC rallies. You set up one website expressly for the purpose of fundraising. As long as the book keeping is transparent and online, all methods are good. And some of the best ways of raising money are over the phone and in person, not online.

I wonder if a more accurate term would not be a galaxy model. Each person who participates in the six projects is a star. The glow of each star is directly proportional to its activity level. And each person decides his or her own activity level.

Another advantage of this group dynamics model is that the amount of time any one person has to give can change from day to day, week to week, but the work does not suffer even if the person does not inform the group when his or her time commitment might momentarily go down. Project teams are self regulating. And there are no hard and fast boundaries between projects. Some of the more active members move from project to project on a revolving basis. They can not do the work of the specialists, but then can fill in the gaps, and take care of the general work and, very importantly, keep the conversation going.

Welcome to the cutting edge cloud model of group dynamics.

Podcasts

December 6, 2005 (15 minutes) The movement for democracy itself has to be democratic. The disapora has to extend both moral and logistical support. Specific projects have been designed, five in all. The book keeping has to be kept transparent and online in near real time. My personal focus is on political work. This movement in Nepal is fast shaping my career. This regime should not see February. Have you contributed your $100 yet?

December 7, 2005 (15 minutes) There are more than 50,000 Nepalis in the US. More than 90% support democracy, about 20% might want to actively contribute. We should offer a more sophisticated organization than the Monarchists and the Maoists. Our underground FM radio station would be a litmus test for that. Less than 0.1% will be very actively involved. We have to identify and organize them. From my part there is going to be zero tolerance on the issue of Madhesi equality within the movement. As to why the seven parties are not more united, more clear, more functional, the dynamics within the Nepali diaspora help me understand. We want to prepare for the worst so it does not happen. But if it happens, we are prepared.

In The News

HM King administers oath of office to new members of the cabinet NepalNews
RJP denies representation in royal cabinet; Lama gets NC-D boot
Cabinet reshuffle fruitless: Leaders
King reshuffles cabinet; brings more loyalists on board
CJ expresses dissatisfaction over NBA
Koirala admits having direct talks with Maoist leaders
The Myths of a Constituent Assembly

Indian envoy meets UML gen secy

Monarchy main obstacle for peace: Leaders
Fragmented political class and the Nepali army
Amid growing opposition, Nepal's King reshuffle cabinet Malayala Manorama, India
Cross Border Reports: "Nepal's king prepares for exile!" Samudaya.org
Nepal king makes sweeping cabinet changesISN
Nepal parties dismiss reshuffle BBC News
Cabinet overhauled by Nepal King The Statesman, India
Nepal minister spent Rs 20,000 on snacks Hindustan Times
Nepal's chief election commissioner warns political parties Asian Tribune, Thailand
Senior political leader admits holding talks with Maoists Asian Tribune
Saran to head to Nepal for democracy talks Sify, India
Saran to take up democracy, arms with Nepal Indian Express
India keen on civil society in Nepal Business Standard
China grants 257,000 US dollars to Nepal People's Daily Online, China
Nepal purge: a warning to all conspirators Webindia123, India