Solve The Bhutani Refugee Crisis: Send Them West

Other countries also interested to take in Bhutanese refugees United States .... 60,000 .... Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden and other EU countries have inquired about 'quota' related with resettlement of Bhutanese refugees. ...... as per the 15-year-old data, there are 106,000 Bhutanese refugees languishing in Nepal ...... the UNHCR, which considers it provides a real hope for resolving one of the most protracted refugee crises in Asia.

There are 110,000 of them. America will take 60,000. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden and others will take the rest. Be done with it. Send them west. Let them have the good life.

Tek Nath Rizal or any political leader may not decide on behalf of the refugess. I don't think the offer by America and others is to pack up the refugees against their will and take them away to some foreign land, far away from home. There is an implicit, explicit suggestion that free will is involved. Noone who does not want to go will be forced to go. That is obvious. But let not these refugees be pawns in the tug of war between an autocratic, ethnicist regime in Bhutan and their democratic opponents like Rizal.

Tek Nath Rizal does not have the authority to say no to the proposal. Who elected him? He does not speak on behalf of the refugees. He can try and convince them to not go, but he may not decide on their behalf.

This refugee crisis b.s. has gone on for too long, and I am sick and tired of it. These people have been living in makeshift conditions. That is not a good life.

I am all for democracy. Bhutan is small fry. We are going to force democracy onto Bhutan, and Burma and Pakistan. But we have to do it the nonviolent way, the smart way.

Take Nepal for an example. The Nepali diaspora played a key role in the April Revolution. The April Revolution could not have happened without the diaspora, plain and simple.

Let these hundred thousand Bhutanese go west, and live the good life, make the dollars, and form the nucleus of a militant - as in nonviolent militancy - democracy movement for Bhutan. Money makes a difference. Go make the money.

Tek Nath Rizal is not making any sense to me. He is hurting his own cause. I think he himself should move to New York to better coordinate the democracy movement. Or he should seek a better arrangement for himself such that he gets to shuttle between New York, Delhi, Kathmandu and Darjeeling.

As long as you stay nonviolent, you can wage your movement from America, from India, from Nepal. Why not? No Indian official will dare get in your way. You circle Bhutan. And then you wage the decisive fight inside Bhutan. And usher democracy. Declare the country a republic. The heck with the kings of the world. Screw Jingme Singme.

I myself would love to get involved in a very personal way. Come on over. We have the experience, and we will happily share. There is a basic formula to spreading democracy and you can have it for free.

This move also will have global implications. Middle East, for example. The two sticklers there are Jerusalem and the refugee issue. There is a need there also to think outside the box. I don't know who in the US foreign policy establishment first came up with this idea - perhaps Moriarty - but that person is a small league genius.

Jerusalem. Take it away from both Israel and Palestine. Hand over its administration to the UN. Make it an international city. Refugees? First find out how many of them want to go back to Israel. Then find out how many of them Israel will take. The difference? Send them out to America, Europe, Australia. Let them have the good life.

Like Lenin said, two steps forward, one step back.

Tek Nath Rizal needs to get out of the way of the sensible solution. Instead he should ride the wave. Get 100,000 Bhutanis out west. Form a strong political organization that encompasses all of them. Have each such person make a voluntary 10% contribution of the money they make out west to that organization, to be administered in a transparent way. Let the organization have periodic internal elections. And go on an all out attack on Jingme. Finish him off. Bhutan needs to become a federal republic.

Who says you have to suffer to wage a successful democracy movement! You could be living in air conditioned aparments, sipping orage juice, watching cable TV, and waging revolution.

So to Tek Nath Rizal I say, get off your butt, and let things move. Move fast.

Bhutanese Refugees site provides authentic information on origin ...
Refugees from Bhutan
Bhutanese Refugees: Bhutannewsonline.com
the bhutanese refugees -- historical background
Human Rights Watch: Asia : Bhutan
Nepal/Bhutan: Refugee Women Face Abuses (Human Rights Watch, 24-9 ...
Bhutan-Refugees
BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Bhutan refugees on hunger strike
Bhootan.org :: Bringing Bhutan Closer To The World
Bhutanese refugee problem:Internationalization is the only alternative
Press Releases: Nepal, Nepal: Prolonging the crisis of Bhutanese ...
Bhutanese Refugees
BBC NEWS | South Asia | Breakthrough for Bhutan refugees?
Bhutan: Refugees face further set back - Amnesty International
IRIN Asia | Asia | NEPAL | NEPAL: Bhutanese refugees hesitant over ...
[PDF] THE BHUTANESE REFUGEES: BETWEEN VERIFICATION, REPATRIATION AND ...
Bhutan Refugee face further set back : Amnesty
Bhutan
VOA News - Offer To Resettle Bhutan Refugees

Western countries show green signal for resettling Bhutanese ... People's Daily Online, China
Maoists ‘abduct’ two Bhutanese refugees Nepalnews.com, Nepal
Rizal Turns Down US Proposal to Resettle Bhutanese Refugees Himalayan Times, Nepal
Upcoming talks will be decisive for repatriation of Bhutanese ... Nepalnews.com, Nepal
US to Take Bhutanese Refugees OhmyNews International, South Korea
US offer puts Bhutanese refugees in Nepal in confusion People's Daily Online, China
NEPAL: Bhutanese refugees hesitant over US resettlement offer Reuters AlertNet, UK
US prepared to take in up to 60,000 Bhutanese refugees from Nepal International Herald Tribune, France
US offers to absorb Bhutanese refugees Indian Express, India
US ready to take in 60,000 Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal People's Daily Online, China

In The News

Acharya camp demands special convention in NC NepalNews With the objective of making republic as the major policy of Nepali Congress (NC), campaigners for republic within the party have demanded special general convention or the meeting of Mahasamiti (general committee). ..... Gagan Thapa, a student leader and another leader of the campaign, informed that in order to press party president Girija Prasad Koirala to adopt republican line, 100,000 signatures of active youth members of the party will be submitted to him soon. "If communists alone carry the slogan of republic, neither the republic will come nor peace will be restored. Congress must become republican in order to win the confidence of Nepali people and international community," said Acharya.

Maoists extend ceasefire; talks moving positively: Prachanda NepalNews the main contentious issues – the fate of monarchy and management of Maoist arms
PM Koirala, Prachanda discuss position of monarchy, arms management The eight political parties had given the responsibility of finding consensus on the issue of like monarchy and arms management to Prime Minister Koirala and Maoist supremo Prachanda. .... The SPA has been saying that the fate of monarchy should be decided either through a referendum or elections to the constituent assembly and the Maoists' arms should be managed before the CA polls while the rebels remain firm not to leave any space for the King in the interim constitution and that their arms should be managed only after resolving the political issues. ..... Meanwhile, the CPN-UML, the second largest party in the SPA, has started discussion with other political parties on the unresolved issues..... It was the UML that first floated a proposal of deciding the fate of monarchy through referendum.
PAC recommends impeachment of two SC judges
Decision should not focus on arms management: Former PM Bhattarai Bhattrai further said that weapons should be separated from the Maoists and the government should also set aside its arms. ... Bhattarai said that he met Mahatma Gandhi during his education period in Kashi in 2007 BS. He said that he had urged Gandhi to write a letter to the Ranas in Nepal to release leaders, including BP Koirala, from jail. When the Indian papers, after getting a whiff of Gandhi writing the letter published the news, the Ranas released BP Koirala. .... Bhattarai also demanded the release of Myanmar’s Aung San Suuki .... Prakash Man Singh alleged that Nepali Congress President and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala is hindering the unity of two congress parties. ...... Deuba had put forward a proposal to carry out necessary homework by constituting a six-member task force- three from each party but Koirala rejected this outright saying that he himself would handle everything, as a result the unification process has gotten nowhere ...... Koirala has been asking us to join his party

Summit talks soon after PM’s return from Biratnagar: Home Minister NepalNews
Republican Front sans NC will be formed, says Gautam "The front will be against monarchy. And if the NC supports monarchy, then it will also be against NC," said Gautam. ..... Hridayesh Tripathy, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies, has said that PM Koirala's remarks about the republican front are his personal opinion. "His views would not affect the environment for talks," said Tripathy who had met with Koirala at his residence in Biratnagar on Thursday.
PM says his comment on ‘republican front’ won’t affect SPA unity the Prime Minister said it is his democratic right to express his views. He also urged the party workers not to put unnecessary pressure on him to agree on pro-republic agendas of the communists.
NRN-UK organises interaction; NRNs reiterate demand for dual citizenship
Govt. will feed Maoist armies in cantonments: Minister Chaudhari
Chakkajam was a protest against growing lawlessness: Maoist leader
Chhath festival starts from today
Maoists to go ahead with Republican Front plan despite Koirala's rejection
Next round of talks should be held by Sunday: UML General Secy.
CJ Poudel condemns idea of re-appointment of judges


Siddhartha Thapa

1. As far as the peace talks are concerned, more or less the Maobadis and the SPA have reached a consensus, i.e on most political issues. For example, the fate of monarchy etc will be decided by the constituent assembly elections etc etc. However the talks at the moment have stalled due to the issue of weapons management. Therefore the prospect of the peace talks succeding depends largely on the Maoists stance on arms management.We have recieved credible information that Prachanda in his talks with the Prime Minister had more or less agreed to all isssues including that of weapons of management. But Prachanda changed his stance dramatically after his proposal was turned down by the dominant hard-line fraction with in the Maobadi.
2. UML - the UML is having dilemas vis-a-vis ideological ambiguity. The Maobadis are moving aggressively indoctrinating cadres of UML into their outfit while the top leaders of UML are in dolldrums regarding how to deal with Maobadis. The Maobadis have already exerted their influence into the rank and file of the UML and clear divisions are begining to surface in the UML.
3. The Royalist( Kamal Thapa et all) - The royalist are yearning for adequate political space. There were reports although not verified that about 3-4000 small arms were sneaked into the palace about 3 weeks ago. The Maoist intelligence responded to this revelation by raiding the house of Bikram Thapa( RPP Chairman of Kathmandu). However no arms were found. But a few days later news reports emerged that a royalist outfit through statement circulated to media houses through out the country proclaimed their arrival in the scene of conflict by taking up arms for the king.
4. Maobadis - Desptie some optimism( go back to point 1) that the peace talks might succede and the Maoist should be given adequate space. There are reasons for us to doubt the sincerity of the Maoists. First, I myself saw numerous Maoist check points within the Kathmandu valley. These check points resembled army checkings during the state of emergency. Secondly, the Maoist have started patrolling the streets of Kathmandu while the army remains confined in the barrack.Patan and Balaju Industrial estate have become detention centres and Kangaroo courts of the Maoist. And the Maoist have gone ahead by arresting some notorious gangsters of Kathmandu fearing they might be used against the Maobadis in time.
   But on the political front, the Maobadis have decided on the following :
   • Political parties - divide and rule. Although they have portrayed GPK as the next president, they are simultaneously engaged in talks with other parties. I believe the Maobadis along with the UML have proposed Deuba to lead the Republican Alliance. Hence, the call from Koirala for the early unification of NC to quash the plans of UML and Maobadis. Another important facet is the labelling of political parties as regressive forces should they not toe the Maoist line.
   • Armed forces - The UML too have assimiliated themselves into the Maoist plans of systematically disturbing the balance of security forces. I would not hesitate to label other leftist in this scheme. Their intention is to constantly label NA as human right violators and discredit the army so that when the times comes for deployment, the NA will already be shunned in the eyes of the people. The other might be to instigate the army into action therefore turning the political table against them.
   • Judiciary - The appointment of judges has been delayed for quite some time. In the absence of judges, the judiciary has not been able to function as per the demand. Therefore, people are consequently going to kangaroo courts established by the Maoist for justice ( even in Kathmandu). Secondly, the Maoist indeed have a big hand in the delay of the appointment of judges. However more importantly leftist judges have filed petition against the appointment of army chief, hence bringing about a direct confrontation between the state judiciary and the executive. The Supreme Court has also questioned the legality of the HOR proclomation.
5. The prospect of able backbenchers utility - The good news is that GPK has slowly started to distrsut Sitaula. Sitaula was on the verge of being fired and KP Oli I believe was about to replace him. But the Maoist intervened and objected. Nonetheless the point is that Girija has roped in Arjunnarsingh KC,Dr.Ramsaran Mahat, Ramchandra Poudel, Mahesh Archarya into the talks with the Maoist. At no time is Sitaula left alone in dealing with the Maoist. However, the utility of able backbenchers is still marred due to pending cases at the CIAA. Although most allegations have been cleared for the likes of Khum Bahadur, Govinda Raj etc, their cases are still hinging in the court due to the direct interference of the home minister. I believe direct orders to prolong the cases. These people especially Khum Bahadur and Govinda Raj harbour very anti-maoist and anti-leftist sentiment are very popular within the Nepali Congress.
6. Surya Bahadur Thapa - By far is the major obstacle to the Maoist. The man still exerts influence and respect in the Nepali Congress and with the Indian establishment. His reading is - anarchy- followed by maoist control and then disintergration of the state. The Maoist are systematically aiming to take over politically and the last resort is an urban rising. By this he doesnt mean an urban uprising will not be staged. It will be staged but before that the Maoist will do what so ever politically to control the centre and if that fails last resort is urban uprising. And the issue he has been raising repeatedly is that of the militia. Provided the peace talks do not dwelve in the aspect of containing or disarming the militia, the Maoist will have an overwhelming majority in the CA elections and then write a constitution that will make Nepal a one party communist state. Feb 1st and the 12 point understanding led to a situation where the institution of monarchy was the casualty, secondly, after the HOR proclomation and the 8point agreement the constitution became the casualty and now if proper home work and a strong stance is not take against the Maoist - the third casualty - democracy. It is important rope the maoist into the mainstream, it is the need but however, the parties to have be to equally committed ideologically, politically and strategically in dealing with the Maoist. And then can you compel the Maoist into democratic main stream.
   Why is the issue of disarming militias so critical as proposed by Surya Bahadur Thapa ?
   The PLA has so far fought with the state security forces. But on the other hand, the Maoist militia is the organ through which the party recruits, extorts, abducts and attempts to displine society by instilling fear with the use of guns. There are according to intelligence reports about 25,000 militia through the country armed with small weapons. While the PLA has fought with the state security forces, the Maoist militia is the vital party organ that deals with the people on day to day basis. So even if the PLA is disarmed, it still leaves a large and a potent force of Maoist armed with small weapons. Therefore, should elections come, the Maoist will mobilize their armed goons through out the country and the end result of the elections will tilt in favour of the Maoist. The political parties on the other hand will pose no threat to the Maoist during election campaigns as the Maoist will have an unfair advantage - disposal of small weapons in their hands. Consequently a desired atmosphere for free and fair elections will not surface and the Maoists will barge the elections with an absolute majority. Therefore, the issue of weapons management and that of disarming the militia along with the PLA is the most vital issue in Nepali politics today.
7. The issue of displaced people - There are about eight hundred thousand displaced people in Nepal today. However, it is our thought that along with peace process, those who have been displaced in the conflict should also be rehabilitated during the transitional phase. For free and fair Constituent Assembly elections and for the larger Nepali population to take part in the this democratic exercise, it is essential internal refugees are rehabilitated. Nonetheless the rehabilitation process of the displaced people is not desireable to the Maoist. This is becuase majority of the displaced people fled due to Maoist atrocities and mainly during the initial phases of the war.Majority of Nepali Congress and UML cadres were vindicated by the Maoist as class enemies. The popular slogan of the Maoist needs to be reassrted - "Congress lai khoji khoji, A-MALEY - lai roji roji, RAPRAPA lai sodi, sodi". Therefore, should the rehabilitation process be delayed, genuine voters of Nepali Congress and UML will be deprived from their right to vote. As the Election Commission demands, voters must return to their constituency for voting, these eight hundred thousand refugees who have been refuging in the captial will be denied the right to vote. Hence it is in the interest of the Maoist to delay or altogether sabotage the rehabilitation process of internal refugees.

Federalism: Four Layers Or Three Layers

I got to meet Pradeep Nepal late last month. I asked him about the UML's current thinking on federalism. He said the thought was to have geographic and not ethnic federalism. I pursued my questioning further. He said there was talk of perhaps having 25 districts. After that conversation with him, I modified my proposed map for federalism.

Nepal: Maps

I had a rather pleasat conversation with Nepal. I started by saying two young men came to him with a small video camera to interview him early this year, or perhaps even earlier than that. "I sent them," I said. I also mentioned having read his article in Drishti. He has a regular column there. He was more pleased to hear that than anything else I said. That shows he is first and foremost a writer. During his stump speech, he made a casual reference to our conversation without mentioning my name. He said I had made him feel at home.

Seven Party Delegation

The 25 districts I have drawn are haphazard. The demarcations can be different from what I have suggested. They most likely will. But the basic concept of having 25 districts is a sound one.

I think he further hinted that there will be only three layers. There will be the center, the 25 districts, and then the village/town/city. That made me think. I thought about his proposal for a few days.

Having three layers is simpler than having four layers. And I am all for simplicity. But will those 25 districts have their own parliaments? Will they have their own three branches of government? What will be the share of power between the center and the districts?

My original thinking was, let's have 75 districts, and three states. My current thinking, thanks to Pradeep Nepalji, is let's have three states and 25 districts.

For me the idea of three states is magical.

You become the chairperson of one of the 25 districts before you become the governor of one of the three states. You become a governor of one of the three states before you become president of the entire country. I am not saying that should be the law of the land. No. Not at all. But that is likely what will end up happening in practice.

That way the country will get the best possible president each time. But if you have only 25 districsts and then the center, you will have chief executives who have spent the better part of their careers catering to this or that ethnic group. With the three states, you do not have that problem.

Just take a look at the topograhical map of Nepal. The country has been designed by god to have three states. Look at how the three river basins take shape.

The three states will be similar in many ways. They will be similar geographically. They will be similar in terms of ethnic and cultural diversity. They will have the same diversity challenges that the country as a whole will have. And it is important they compete with each other as to how best to deal with them. All three states will have the Terai, Pahad and Himal in them. All three will have roughly equal resources.

The funny thing is the party that I have historically been close with - the Sadbhavana - is not with me on this one. The last time I talked to Anil Jha, which was earlier this month - he said he wanted the entire Terai as one state. That is not practical. So you create one state that is half the country's population and perhaps 70% of its wealth. What do you do with the rest?

New York City is the most diverse place on earth. And yet there is no civil war going on here. Why? If you can create a good enough political, economic, social infrastructure, diversity is not a problem. It is a blessing, not a curse.

So our emphasis should be on creating that superior political infrastructure. It should not be to make sure ethnic groups stay geographically separate. That separation is not true today, it will be less true tomorrow. People and families move around looking for greener economic pastures. And that is the way it should be. As a Madhesi I am least concerned that more Pahadis and Himalis might move to the Terai down the line. That movement will not dilute the Madhesi cultures as long as the Madhesis have their one person, one vote democracy, they have their language rights, and they are part of a fast growing economy.

Interim Federalism
Federal Republic Guaranteed
Critiquing Pitambar Sharma's Federalism
Pitambar Sharma's Federalism
Federalism: Competing Maps
RPP For Federalism Ahead of UML, NC And NC(D)
My Federalism Is Economic, Scientific, Not Ethnic
Why It Is Important To Me The Congress Takes Up A Federal Republic
UML Inching Towards Federalism
Monarchy, Army, Federalism

Of all the top leaders in Nepal today, the person I have become the closest with since I launched this blog is Madhav Nepal, more so than anyone in the Sadbhavana even. We see eye to eye on many national issues. So I am pleased that not only has his party adopted the idea of a federal republic, it is saying no to ethnic federalism, and yes to sound, geographic federalism.

If you ask me, I think Madhav Nepal is poised to become the first president of Nepal. He is on his way.

Prachanda, Madhav, Devendra
Madhav Nepal
Madhav Nepal Out In Open
Interim President: Madhav Nepal
Phone Talk With Madhav Nepal, Hridayesh Tripathy
Maoist, Moriarty, Madhav, Manmohan: Get Behind The 3 Point Program
Madhav Nepal, Commander Of The Movement
Email From Madhav Kumar Nepal

And now I ask for only one thing. Political parties should not be allowed to raise private funds. Instead they should get state funds in direct proportion to the number of votes they earn during a national election.

Pramukh Dar
Proposed Constitution

अमूर्त संघात्मक राज्य प्रस्ताव

भवानी बराल

गत साउनको अन्तिम साता नेकपा -एमाले) को केन्द्रीय समितिको ११ औं पूर्ण बैठकले संघात्मक राज्य प्रणालीको प्रस्ताव गर्‍यो । लामो समयदेखि एकात्मक राज्यको वकालत गर्दै आएको एमालेले एक्कासि संघात्मक राज्यको प्रस्ताव गरेको अवश्य होइन । एमालेभित्र एकात्मक र संघात्मक राज्य समर्थकबीचको आन्तरिक संघर्ष नेपाली जनताको चाहना, जनजाति तथा आदिवासी आन्दोलनले उठाएको विषयको परिणाम हो यो घोषणा । समग्रमा संसदवादी राजनीतिक दलको एक प्रमुख घटकले संघात्मक राज्य प्रणालीको प्रस्ताव गर्नुमात्र पनि ऐतिहासिक घटना हो । संघात्मक राज्य रचना गर्ने नीतिगत सहमति जनाउनुमात्र पनि राष्ट्रिय राजनीतिक माहोलमा एमालेको १८० डिग्रीको फड्को हो ।

एमालेको अन्तरपार्टी निर्देशनमा जनाएअनुसार- 'राज्यको पुनर्संरचना गर्नु भनेको नेपाली समाजका विशेषताको आधारमा राज्यको स्वरूप र चरित्रको निर्धारण गर्नु हो' एमालेको यो व्याख्या सुन्दा जति कर्णपि्रय लाग्छ, यसको व्याख्या त्यति नै अमूर्त, जति व्याख्या गर्‍यो त्यति नै अर्थ लाग्ने बहुअर्थी छ । त्यो निर्देशनमा एमालेले नेपाललाई बहुजातीय, बहुभाषिक, बहुधार्मिक, तथा बहुसांस्कृतिक चरित्रको भनी व्याख्या गरेको छ र यो विविधतायुक्त समाजमा राज्यको स्वरूप केन्द्रीकृत नभएर संघात्मक हुनुपर्ने ठहर गरेको छ । तर एमालेले राज्यको स्वरूप प्रादेशिक संघात्मकतामा आधारित हुनुपर्ने ठहर गरेर नेपालको विशिष्टतामा संघात्मक प्रणालीको 'वर्ण शंकर' प्रस्ताव गरेको छ । यस किसिमको प्रादेशिक आधारको संघात्मकताको कुनै अर्थ हुन्न । नेपाली कांग्रेसका केही नेता तथा सद्भावना पार्टीले उठाएको राज्यको पुनर्संरचनाभन्दा सारमा यो प्रस्तावमा केही फरक छैन । नेपाली समाजको विशेषताको आधारमा राज्यको स्वरूप र चरित्र निर्धारण गर्ने एमालेको यो प्रस्ताव यहीँनेर आएर पतन भएको छ ।

एमालेले राज्य पुनर्संरचना गर्नुअघि सारेको यो बुँदाले अझ प्रस्ट पारेको छ । 'नेपाललाई अब जातीय, भाषिक, सांस्कृतिक र प्रादेशिक स्वायत्ततामा आधारित अखण्ड, अविभाज्य, स्वतन्त्र र सार्वभौमसत्ता सम्पन्न राज्य राष्ट्रका रूपमा विकास गरिनेछ ।' यो के भन्न खोजेको हो ? जातीय, भाषिक र सांस्कृतिक आधारमा संघात्मक राज्य बनाउने प्रस्ताव गरिसकिएपछि 'प्रादेशिक स्वायत्तता, अखण्ड, अविभाज्य स्वतन्त्र र सार्वभौमसत्ता सम्पन्न राज्य राष्ट्रका रूपमा विकास गरिने' यस्तो भाषा प्रयोग गरिरहनु पछिको रहस्य के

हो ? फेरि यस्तो राज्य राष्ट्र 'स्वशासनको ढाँचामा आधारित हुनेछ ।' भन्ने फुर्को झुन्ड्याउनु पछिको अर्थ के हो ? स्वायत्तता पनि दिने जातीय, भाषिक, सांस्कृतिक आधार पनि हुने, प्रादेशिक आधारको पनि हुने अखण्ड, अविभाज्य, स्वतन्त्र पनि रहने, पुनर्संरचना गर्दा आर्थिक र सामाजिक रूपले पछि परेका समुदायको पहिचान, सहभागिता र पहुँचलाई सुनिश्चित गरिने आदि/ इत्यादि सबै एकै डालोमा हालेको छ । यसरी एमालेले राज्यको पुनर्संरचनाको खिचडी पकाएको छ । राज्यको पुनर्संरचना गर्ने एमालेले दुनियाभरिका आधारहरूलाई एकै ठाउँमा घोलघाल गरेको छ । अर्थात् नेपाली समाजको विशिष्टताको आधारमा राज्यको पुनर्संरचना गर्ने आधार तय नगरेकाले यो यथास्थितिको दस्ताबेजमात्रै हो । यस्तो छारस्ट आधारबाट राज्यको पुनर्संरचना गर्दा अग्रगामी हुनै सक्दैन । अर्को स्वायत्तता, स्वशासनजस्ता शब्दावलीलाई एकै ठाउँमा प्रयोग गर्नु अर्थपूर्ण छैन । प्रादेशिक संघात्मकतामा जातीय भाषिक र सांस्कृतिक स्वायत्तता कसरी सम्भव हुन्छ ? प्रादेशिक भनेको त्यो भौगोलिक वा भूगोलसँग सम्बन्धित क्षेत्रीय आधारमात्रै हो । अर्को संघात्मक स्वरूपमा अखण्ड, अविभाज्य, स्वतन्त्र र सार्वभौमसत्ता सम्पन्न आदि शब्दावली कसका निम्ति प्रयोग गरिएका हुन् प्रस्ट छैन । संघात्मक स्वरूपका स-साना स्वायत्त प्रदेशहरू अखण्ड, अविभाज्य, स्वतन्त्र र सार्वभौमसत्ता सम्पन्न हुने कि पूरै देश ? सार्वभौमसत्ता सम्पन्न भनेर किटान गरिसकेपछि अखण्ड, अविभाज्य कुन तुकमा आएका शब्द हुन् ? स्वतन्त्र शब्द के अर्थ बुझाउन आएको हो ? यी सबै विशेषण भिराउँदा कस्तो खालको संघात्मक राज्य रचना हुन्छ ? शायद एमालेले यस्तो 'उँट' रूपी संघात्मकताको सपना बाँडेको छ । कुन प्रकारको संघात्मकता हो भन्ने यकिन हुन नसकेपछि यस्तो अमूर्त संघात्मक प्रणालीको पनि केही अर्थ रहन्न ।

एमालेले भौगोलिक अवस्थिति, जनसंख्या र जातिगत बसोबासको अवस्था, मातृभाषा र भाषा प्रयोगको अवस्था, सांस्कृतिक सम्मिलनको विशिष्ट अवस्था, प्रशासनिक सुगमता, आर्थिक अन्तर सम्बन्ध र ऐतिहासिकतालाई आधार मान्दै नयाँ राजनीतिक प्रशासनिक इकाई विभाजन गर्नुपर्ने जनाएको छ । एमालेले उठाएको यी भद्रगोल आधारहरूले संघात्मक राज्य हुनै नसक्ने घुमाउरो तर्क अघि सारेको प्रतीत हुन्छ । तपशीलका कुराहरूलाई मुख्य र विशिष्ट आधारहरूलाई गौण बनाएकाले एमालेद्वारा प्रस्तावित संघात्मक स्वरूप नेपाली जनताको निम्ति हात्तीका देखाउने दाँत हुन्, चपाउने दाँत अर्कै छ । संघीय प्रदेशको नामाकरण गर्दा र राजनीतिक तथा प्रशासनिक केन्द्र निर्धारण गर्दा ऐतिहासिकताको पक्षलाई ख्याल गर्नेजस्ता कुराहरूसमेत उल्लेख गर्न भ्याएको एमालेको राज्य पुनर्संरचनासम्बन्धी प्रस्ताव भुइँमै अलमलिएको छ । एमालेले कुन आधारबाट राज्यको पुनसर्ंरचना गर्ने हो ? ठोसरूपमा त्यही नै खुट्याउन सकेको देखिँदैन । यस्तो लाग्छ जसका मुखबाट जे-जे आधारबाट राज्य पुनसर्ंरचना गर्ने हो भन्ने निस्कन्छ ती सबै आधारबाट गर्ने सतही प्रस्ताव गरेको छ । प्रस्ट रूपमा राज्यको पुनर्संरचना जातीय, भाषिक, क्षेत्रीय, भौगोलिक के आधारबाट गर्ने भन्नेमा नै प्रस्ताव मौन छ । कसका निम्ति राज्यको पुनर्संरचना गर्ने कुरै खुलेको छैन भने राज्यको पुनर्संरचनाको अर्थ के हुन्छ ?

'आदिवासी जनजातिहरूलाई आफ्नो राजनीतिक अधिकार सुनिश्चित गर्न तथा आर्थिक, सामाजिक र सांस्कृतिक विकास गर्नसक्ने गरी आत्मनिर्णयको अधिकार हुनेछ' भनी प्रस्ताव त गरेको छ तर जातीय आत्मनिर्णयको अधिकार भन्नै सकेको छैन । आत्मनिर्णयको अधिकार नभनी अग्रगामी नभइने हिसाबले मात्र यो शब्द प्रस्तावमा प्रयोग भएको छ । संयुक्त राष्ट्रसंघले प्रयोग गर्दै आएको अमूर्त 'आत्मनिर्णयको अधिकार' नेपालका आदिवासी जनजातिले खोजेका होइनन् । 'जातीय आत्मनिर्णयको अधिकार' प्रस्ताव गर्न कन्जुस्याइँ गर्नुले आदिवासी जनजातिको अधिकार सुनिश्चित गर्छ भन्न कदापि सकिन्न । जातीय आत्मनिर्णयको अधिकारलाई एमालेले यहीँनेर आएर असान्दर्भिक ठानेको छ ।

यसर्थ एमालेले जातीय, क्षेत्रीय, आर्थिक जे आधारबाट प्रान्तहरू गठन गरेर राज्यको पुनर्संरचना गरे पनि त्यसको औचित्य पुष्टि हुँदैन । यसमानेमा एमालेको राज्य पुनसर्ंरचना घुमाउरो पाराले जातीय आधारमा राज्य रचना नगर्ने भनेकै हो । अर्को युरोपको राष्ट्रिय राज्यको अवधारणामा जानु उचित नहुने प्रस्ताव गरेकाले पनि एमालेले जातीय आधारलाई राज्य पुनर्संरचनाको आधार नबनाएको प्रस्ट हुन्छ । नेपालको भू-राजनीतिक परिस्थितिले साना-साना टुक्रामा विभाजित गर्न नहुने प्रस्ताव गर्दै भौगोलिक आधारलाई मात्र राज्य पुनसर्ंरचनाको आधार लिएको प्रस्ट हुन्छ । भारतको प्रभुत्ववादी दृष्टिकोणसँग डराउँदै उसले जातीय र साना राज्य रचनालाई निषेध गरेको छ ।

एमालेले थुप्रै ढाट तेस्र्याएर संघात्मक राज्य संरचनामा जटिलता थपेको छ । यो सामन्तवादी एकात्मक राज्य संरचना विघटन गर्न नहुने घुमाउरो तर्क हो । यस्ता तर्कले राज्यको पुनर्संरचनाको बाटो सोझ्याउँदैन । एमालेले संघीय राज्य संरचनाको सस्तो लोकपि्रयतालाई नगदीकरण गर्न गरेको यो फोस्रो प्रस्ताव हो । यो प्रस्तावको गम्भीरता चुनाबी घोषणापत्र जत्तिको पनि छैन ।

-बराल ँयस्तो हुनुपर्छ राज्यको संरचना’ पुस्तकका लेखक हुन् ।

Girija: A Ceremonial Monarch Wannabe

Girija Koirala is against the idea of a republic. He is a conservative. He is a status quoist. After having spent months under house arrest after the king's coup, he was still not for a constituent assembly. He is not exactly known for his intellectual curiosities.

But in a democracy, he has a right to whatever political views. The problem is he has not been following democtatic norms inside his own party on this question. Where is the debate in his party's central committee on this question?

Ram Chandra Poudel is a staunch republican. Poudel is the most likely successor to Koirala in the Koirala faction of the Congress.

The Deuba Congress is already for a federal republic. The most obvious casualty of Koirala's republican stance is any possibility that the two Congress factions will become one. And that is the way it should be.

It is not healthy for Nepal's democracy for the two Congress factions to unify. It is Koirala's autocratic ways that split the Congress in the first place. He has not changed one bit.

Girija Koirala should retire. He is past retirement age.

Or the second generation in his party should come forth and revolt. That revolt will make it possible for the two factions to unify.

The two Congress factions should unfiy around the slogan of a federal republic.

I smell foul play. I smell money. It is entirely possible the monarchists are pumping money into this talk of republic or not. Koirala is in need of opaque eletion money. It is with that money that he buys the blind loyalty of his MPs. If you go against Koirala, you might not get a ticket to contest elections. Or you might not get plentiful election money.

I am worried about Congress money. I am worried about Maoist money.

There is a need to put a strong provision in the interim constitution to make all party finances transparent. That is as important as arms management.

Girija's Options

The Nepali Congress, as two factions or as one party, may go for a ceremonial monarchy. But that decision is going to have to be taken by a party convention. Anything else is illegitimate.

That party's last convention said it is now neutral on the monarchy question. What that means is that party may not go for a ceremonial monarchy. To go for a ceremonial monarchy is not to be neutral on the monarchy question. Not even Girija Koirala is above the party. He may not go against what is his party's number one decision during its last convention.

Girija Can Not Claim Credit For The April Revolution

A democratic republic is the clear mandate of the April Revolution. Girija does not get it. How can he claim any credit for the April Revolution?

Girija Koirala is the ceremonial monarch born out of the April Revolution. He acts like a monarch inside his party. His solo utterances in Biratnagar are party policy. Party policy does not get decided through discussions in the central committee. This is unfortunate. This can not be tolerated.

In The News

Maoists to go ahead with Republican Front plan despite Koirala's rejection NepalNews Koirala's assertion that his party "will not be a part of any Front for Republic" ..... Dev Gurung –a member of Maoist talks team – said that such a front is necessary to overthrow monarchy. .... Nepali Congress (Democratic) has also disagreed to join such front. ..... The Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) has not given its official viewpoint about the front idea. "We have not demanded for such a front but we are not opposed to it also," said Jhal Nath Khanal ....... Deputy Prime Minister and president of People's Front Nepal (PFN) Amik Sherchan had recently urged PM Koirala to lead such a republican front. ..... Koirala had said that since NC is a democratic party, it will go to the elections of Constituent Assembly with a separate manifesto ..... Maoists have been saying that they would be willing to show maximum flexibility in the management of their arms and armies if the Seven Party Alliance (SPA), including NC, agrees to join a united republican front to establish republic through the CA or referendum. Senior Maoist leaders have gone on record saying that they would accept making Koirala even the first president of the country.
Government ready to talk with JTMM Hridayesh Tripathy, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies, has said that the government has no qualms for holding dialogue with the JTMM. Talking to journalists in Dhobidhara of Saptari, he, however, said that since there were two factions of JTMM, the government is still unclear about how to go about with the peace talks with them. ..... Tripathy's comments came in response to offer for peace talks made by Jai Krishna Goit-led JTMM. Recently, Jwala Singh had floated a separate faction of JTMM. Both are active in Siraha and Saptari district. ....
PM says NC not for republic Koirala has said the Nepali Congress would not be part of the broader republican alliance including the Maoists, which many members of the current Seven Party Alliance have been stressing on. .... Koirala said Nepali Congress, principally, does not believe in republic Nepal. ..... "Republic is not the agenda and policy of the Nepali Congress and it will not be involved in such fronts at any cost," he said. ... He also said unification between the Nepali Congress and Nepali Congress (Democratic) will be completed before the elections to the constituent assembly and the unified congress will have the same agenda during the polls .......
People start retaliating Maoist excesses; seven injured Irate by the continuous excesses of the Maoists, local people of Sarlahi vandalized two barriers at Ranijung area of the district put by the Maoists for collecting taxes from the vehicles plying at the street. ..... The locals also warned Maoists not to collect any form of taxes in the area and also warned of dire consequences if they did not obey. ..... villagers protesting the Maoist atrocities clashed with the Maoists in eastern Jhapa district ..... Three locals and four Maoists were injured, when a group of 15 Maoists attacked locals, who were protesting against Maoist excesses ..... local people of Situwa bazaar of Dhankuta district organized Situwa bazaar bandh (Shut-down) and also blocked the Koshi highway protesting the Maoist excesses.
Policemen and Maoists engage in minor scuffle; Maoists impose traffic blockade this morning
PM Koirala confident about success of peace talks, says it takes time
Nepal's position improved in press freedom index; stands at 159th position
Breaking Deadlock on Arms Management the government and the Maoists want CA elections for different reasons: the government with an aim to disarm the Maoists and resolve the Maoist insurgency problem, whereas, the Maoists with an aim to establish a republic Nepal. ..... Koirala is plotting a so-called “grand design” to maintain the status quo by saving Nepal’s monarchy ..... the Maoists cannot be a part of Nepal’s government so long as the Maoist Party has a separate military wing. ....... Given its long tradition of loyalty to the monarchy, it is a wishful thinking to believe that Nepal Army is now fully under the control of current civilian government. ..... “We are not ready to lay down arms unless a democratic army is formed. The effort to make us lay down arms unilaterally will only derail the peace process.” ....... the UN cannot do much unless both the SPA and the Maoists agree on the modality of arms management. ...... (1) downsize Nepal Army by providing a package for retirement for those who have served more than 15 years or more; (2) Hold the army fully accountable by taking strong actions against those who have been involved in gross human rights violations including disappearance and torture; and (3) Commit fully to implement the findings of the Rayamajhi Commission and punish those to be found guilty of unlawful killings during the April protests. ......... (1) Create a new ministry to oversee the Maoist Army and their expenditure. During the interim period, assign this ministry to a leader from the Maoist Party; (2) Put both Nepal Army and the Maoist Army under the control of National Security Council chaired by the Prime Minister but the Council’s decision should be approved by the interim parliament; (3) Agree that the Security Council will serve as the integrated headquarter of both armies. With the help of UN experts, the Council will develop a plan for merging two armies within next four months or so and the plan will have to be approved by the cabinet and the parliament. The merging will start immediately after the CA elections; and (4) Agree that the access to the arms and armies, will be limited to the UN representatives and the Security Council

Lasting peace to be established in Nepal: PM People's Daily Online, China
Nepal urges all not to favour monarchy Kantipur Online, Nepal Nepal’s remarks have come at a time when Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala is saying that his party wouldn’t favour republican setup in the upcoming election to the constituent assembly ......
Maoist Leader Sees NC, NC (D) as Most Regressive Himalayan Times The five left parties are ready to go for a democratic republic with a federal system and ethnic autonomy, the CPN-UML is still unclear and the democrats are still not convinced about doing away with the monarchy ...... the two parties also will have to go for a republic as most of their cadres now support the republican thoughts. ..... "If 'surrenderism' continues, the third round of people's movement will follow. Nobody, not even the army, will be able to prevent another revolution from taking place" ....... We are ready even to lock up 40 per cent of our arms if the government locks 25 per cent of arms belonging to the army ...... So long as the monarchy exists in any form, there is a threat to the seven-party government of a royal coup. ...... "The Newars have contributed for thousands of years to make Nepal a civilised country but still they are not in the state, they have to live like internal refugees." ..... Damannath Dhungana, urged all the parties favouring referendum on monarchy to think over it twice because it would only make the regressive forces active. ...... Chairperson of the Manka Khala Padma Ratna Tuladhar demanded that, like other historic announcements, the House or Representatives declare Nepal Sambat the national calendar.
Nepal Army Reiterates Loyalty to Government Nepal human Rights News, Nepal
Five Hurt as Leftover Bomb Explodes in West Nepal Nepal human Rights News, Nepal
Maoists halt vehicular movement in Nepal capital Zee News, India
Two-Hour Strike Hinders Life in Nepal OhmyNews International, South Korea

‘Goit ordered me to bomb Kantipur office’ Kantipur Jyoti Jha, Morang district coordinator of Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM), Monday disclosed that Jaykrishna Goit, the central coordinator of JTMM, had ordered him to bomb the eastern regional office building of the Kantipur Publications in Biratnagar in broad daylight. ...... Goit had called Jha to Birpur of India and instructed him to carry out the plan, which, according to Jha, was in retaliation for the publication not covering JTMM's activities but only publishing "false" news about the Morcha. ...... Jha, whom Maoists had taken into control some three weeks ago from Kankalini temple at Bhardaha in Saptari district, revealed details of the plan while talking to journalists at a press meet held inside a Maoist security post at Bharadaha. ..... Goit had pressurized him to do so arguing that such actions would create propaganda and make the Morcha famous among the masses. He also stated he was detained while trying to carry out the plan. ...... Jha also revealed that the JTMM had no plan to murder MP Krishnacharan Shrestha. "However, issuing a statement, Goit falsely owned up to killing Shrestha claiming that it (taking responsibility for the killing of someone renowned) would add to the popularity of the party among the Madhesi communities," Jha said. He further maintained that JTMM cadres had no hand in the killing.

BK Rana: Paper On Kusundas

Significance Of Kusundas And Their Language In The Trans-Himalayan Region
B. K. Rana
Harvard University,
Cambridge, MA
October 21- 22, 2006

General Background:

The Kusunda language does not remain a ‘not well studied and classified’ language anymore now. The government of Nepal funded for its detailed study with some leading linguists in the country. The National Foundation for Development of Indigenous Nationalities [NFDIN] brought at least two fluent Kusunda speakers along with few others from western part of Nepal in Kathmandu, funded for their 3 months stay to document data and organized a national seminar on the language on October 10, 2004. Enough data has been obtained and documented. The study shows Kusunda language doesn’t resemble to any other languages in the world.
Since, I left Nepal for USA in 2003, I have been unable to establish any direct communication with the Kusundas whom I could discover among the mid-hills of Nepal in early 2000. However, I could obtain some other crucial data from Ms S. Thapa who brought Gyani Maya, a fluent Kusunda speaker, in her hometown of Butwal in the western plains of Nepal and video-graphed her interview in April 2003. We have already discussed on those data in the Fifth Harvard Roundtable on Ethnogenesis of South and Central Asia in Cambridge on May 10 - 11, 2003.

Before the discovery of Raja Mama, a lone Kusunda of Tanahu in west Nepal, the linguistic communities held a belief that Kusundas have already vanished from the face of the earth and eventually their precious language also. But the discovery of Raja Mama opened up a new avenue for Kusunda research in recent years. This also led to the preservation of this important indigenous tribal community and its profound linguistic heritage. Now, another important job has to be done, providing direct benefit to the target community in compliance with the international laws, testing the Kusunda DNA.

The Nepal government has placed high priority to preserve certain near-extinct indigenous communities and their heritage. The National Foundation for Indigenous Nationalities,[NFDIN] a government entity headed by the Prime Minister, in whose governing council, Raja Mama had been nominated a member in 2004. This is a first record in Nepalese history that a Kusunda got nominated to a government entity.

Raja Mama and Lil Bahadur Kusunda:

After his discovery Raja Mama [Kusunda] drew enormous media attention in the country. The media still report him as ‘a lone Kusunda’ of Nepal; however, there are few more others in different parts of western Nepal.

The photo below was taken in February 2000 in Tanahu when I discovered him. He said he was fifty years old. He should have weighed 55 to 60 Kilograms and about 5 feet tall. He said to me he was born in jungle. He doesn’t remember anything about his father. He was a lonely fellow. He told me he used to hunt jungle fowl, forage yam, tuber and fruits. Nowadays, he doesn’t go for a hunt. He helps other in agriculture. He just gave me some 50 Kusunda words

Raja Mama Kusunda

As Tamla Ukyab, then Member Secretary and ex-officio Executive Director of the Foundation told me over phone from Kathmandu that the government deposited in a fixed account Rs. 75,000.00 [little more than US $ 1000.00] in his name so that he could marry and start a family life. Now, he has married a woman – Tamla Ukayb said. Both Tamla Ukyab and Sant B. Gurung played a vital role for the recent study and preservation of Kusunda language. We are thankful of them.

Since, Raja Mama Kusunda had received wide media coverage in the country. Kusundas got prominence which led me to participate in the 4th Harvard Rountable in 2002. After the roundtable, I wrote a few articles on the Kusunda and published in major dailies from Kathamadu. People began taking deep concern in the Kusundas.

Almost one year after the discovery of Raja Mama Kusunda, All Nepal Indigenous Peoples’ Convention, [ANIPC], one of the non-governmental organizations of indigenous peoples, organized its second national convention in Kathmandu in April 2001. Hundreds of representatives from among different indigenous peoples’ communities in the country participated in the convention. The convention organizers told they wanted to hear and understand the issues of the indigenous tribal communities directly from their own mouths.

Lil Bahadur Kusunda, born in 1949

Therefore, the convention organizers had also invited Lil Bahadur Kusunda and his middle son Setu Lal Kusunda from Tiram Ward 6. Budhi Chaur, of Pyuthan district. Lil Bahadur Kusunda had arrived Kathmandu with his particular traditional Kusunda weapons: bow and arrow. This Kusunda has also forgotten most of the Kusunda words as the Raja Mama Kusunda of Tanahu.
Lil Bahadur Kusunda has married a non-Kusunda woman and has 18 members in his family. He told me he lived in the jungle for 28 years. He doesn’t speak any Kusunda. Since his is an inter-caste marriage, his children and grand-children are therefore also unknown about the Kusunda language. He told huru for bow and guru for the arrow. Actually, in Kusunda bow is called tut and arrow - mui.

Chepangs, Rautes, and Kusundas:

Chepangs were also a hunting group of people in the central hills of Nepal whose population size is 52237 [2001]. Nowadays, they don’t hunt. They live in Gorkha, Dhadhing, Makawanpur and Chitwan districts – quite close to Kathmandu. These Chepangs speak one of the TB languages.
Rautes, population 658 [2001], are another group of foraging tribal community in western part of Nepal. They speak Khamchi, a TB language and roam, even today, amongst the deep forests in western part of Nepal. In the jungle they make huts tying together some vines with branches of small trees. Such huts are called ‘rautees’. These Rautes run away from the Kusundas as the latter treat them as their ‘subjects’. Rautes hunt monkeys and eat them.

The Chepangs do not call themselves Thakuris while Rautes and Kusundas have taken Thakuri surnames as: Shahi, Sen, Malla and Shah. A Thakuri erupts in bad temper when one talks of Kusunda in front of him. I had that kind of experience in one of my expeditions in search for Kusundas. The Thakuris are derogatively called ‘Kusundas’. The Kusunda origin story as documented by Reinhard and Toba tells Kusunda, Thakuri and Magars are blood brothers. This story, however, is in indigenous Kusunda language, sounds fairly recent.

Kusundas used to have some taboos: as they would not touch cow-dongs, would not eat or drink anything put in a milk pot. In other words, they would not eat anything if you have put some milk in a jar or bowl or whatever and used it later to give some rice or pulses to the Kusundas. The Kusundas would not live inside a house or hut tied with ropes or vines. The Kusundas would not kill monkeys for meat. These are the striking differences between Kusundas and Rautes. Kusundas do not say themselves Kusunda. They shun this word. In their own language they prefer calling themselves a ‘myahaq’ – a King or ‘gelang de mahaq’ - king of forest. Could this ‘Kusunda’ title be given by some other advanced communities to the Kusundas?

Kusundas, Mundas, Nihals and Jarawas:

While talking of Kusundas, the Mundas also come into our mind. The Santhal or Santhali is one of the Munda languages. Santhals have even developed a script of their own. This is also a pronominalized language.

Sanskrit and Prakrit have derived hundreds of words from the Proto-Munda [Kuiper,1948]. However, the Proto-Munda ‘ka-la(n)ja’ and certain words such as: Sanskrit ‘al-in-jara’, Pali ‘al-an-jara’ and Nihali ‘len-jo’ pose some problems to designate Munda as Austro-Asiatic [Witzel 2000] . Also the view of having some links in Nihali and Kusunda [Fleming, 1996] has also been contested that ‘Nihali no language at all but a `so-called' or seeming language’ [Zide, 1995 ?].

The photo below of a Munda king also looks different than both the Raja Mama and Lil Bahadur Kusunda.

Picture (courtesy HRCBM-Khulna): The poverty striken Anil Munda and his wife. Mr. Anil Munda is the king of Mundas at Koyera, Khulna of Bangladesh http://www.hrtribune.com/Munda/Munda_part-I.html

The picture below of two Jarawa young boys actually does not look like that of Raja Mama Kusunda and Lil Bahadur Kusunda. The boys in this picture look South Indian stock while both Raja Mama and Lil Bahadur Kusunda have longer hair and different facial feature.

Photo courtesy: Ausaf Sayeed http://www.ausafsayeed.com/jarawa.html

A Designated Language Isolate:

The Kusunda has been designated a language isolate. The most recent study carried out by David E. Watters and others again designate Kusunda as a language isolate. He writes the Kusunda has no relationship with any other languages in the world.

There is enough Kusunda vocabulary on the Kusunda language. And, there has been a lot more works on the Kusunda being left undone after Hodgson and Reinhard & Toba.

Until recently the most popular Kusunda sentences among linguists used to be chi kadi gaman (I rice eat), git kadi gaman (He rice eats) and nu kadi naman (You rice eat). Now David Watters has worked on this and finds five basic pronouns as: chi ‘I’, tok ‘we’, nu ‘you’, nok ‘you (plural)’ and gina ‘he, she, that’ and the equivalent of ‘they’ gina dzina ‘they two’, gina da ‘they three’ gina pyangdzang ‘they four’, gina pandang ‘they five’ and gina many, ‘they many’. He offers the following sentences:

First Person:
t-am-an sl ‘I ate’
t-am-da-n pl ‘We ate’
Second Person
n-am-an sl ‘You ate’
n-am-da-n pl ‘You ate’
Third Person:
g-am-an sl ‘He/she ate’
g-am-da-n pl ‘They ate’
The singular morpheme -an is replaced by -du and plural morpheme –da-n by da-k in future tense below:
First Person:
t-am-du sl. ‘I will eat’
t-am-da-k pl. ‘We will eat’
Second Person:
n-am-du sl. ‘You will eat’
n-am-dak pl. ‘ You [pl] will eat’
Third Person:
g-am-du sl. ‘He/she will eat’
g-am-da- k ‘They will eat’

The above Kusunda sentence ‘chi [kadi] gaman’ for English ‘I eat [rice]’ also sometimes spoken ‘taman’. And while speaking, Kusundas say ‘taman’ only leaving ‘kadi = rice’. A phonetic change ‘t’ > ‘ch’ or ‘ch’ > ‘t’ takes place. The Kusunda pronoun ‘chi’ meaning ‘I’ changes into ‘ti’, gets pronominalized ‘taman’ and appears to be a single word.

Kusunda: a Mother language ?

There has been no agreement on whether Kusunda is a language isolate or otherwise. Now, we have enough data with which we can tell that Kusunda doesn’t have any relationship with any other languages in the world, however by accident or whatever, there are quite a number of Kusunda words among different languages.

The Kusunda ‘mai = mother’, ‘suta= thread’, ‘mahi= water buffalo’ and ‘miza or azaki (cf. Sanskrit aja ) = goat are interesting to note here. John Bengston attributes Kusunda ‘mai’ to Proto-Human.

The Kusunda pronoun ‘nu’ and Jarawa, a language spoken in the South and Middle Andaman ‘ni’ offer same meaning - the second person ‘you’. The Jarawa ‘onnaho = tooth’ and Kusunda ‘ouho = tooth’ look alike while Jarawa ‘na:ppo= fish’ and Kusunda ‘nasa= fish’ have nasal sounds in their initial syllables.

John McWhorter points out that Kusunda and Oko-Juwoi, a language once spoken in India, have some similarities by close accident or whatever. He finds Kusunda ‘chi= I’ and Juwoi ‘tui= I’, Kusunda ‘chee = my’ and Juwoi ‘tii-ye = my’ and Kusunda ‘gida= he/she’ and Juwoi ‘kite= my’.

We now understand Kusunda has given its cognates to so many of different languages and therefore it would be reasonable to designate it a Mother Language or similar other title than any isolate. This language is not in isolation but has shared with many others in the world.

References:

Fleming, Harold 1996: Looking to the West and North: Nihali and Kusunda Find Links Mother Tongue II, Journal of the Association for the Study of Language in Prehistory, Issue II ( December 1996).

Hodgson, Brian H. 1857: Journal of Asiatic Society - Bengal and Asian Educational Services C-2/15, SDA, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016

Justin, Anstice 2000: Who are the Jarawa? http://www.andaman.org/BOOK/originals/Justin/art-justs.htm#1
Kuiper, F.B.J. 1948: Proto-Munda Words in Sanskrit, Amsterdam, Verhandeling der Koninklijke Nederlandsche Akademie Van Wetenschappen, Afd. Letterkunde, Nieuwe Reeks Deel Li, No. 3] http://www.hindunet.org/saraswati/dictionary/9MUNDA.HTM

McWhorter, John 2004: Can relationships between languages be determined after 80,000 years?
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001037.html

Rana, B. K. 2002: New Materials on the Kusunda Language: The Fourth Harvard Roundtable on Ethnogenesis of South and Central Asia Cambridge MA, USA May 11 - 13, 2002. http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/kusunda.htm, http://nepalresearch.org/publications/kusunda_materials.pdf

__________ 2003: Recently Recorded Materials on the Kusunda Language: The Fifth Harvard Roundtable on Ethnogenesis of South and Central Asia Cambridge MA, USA May 10 - 11, 2003 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Langhali_Forum/files/

___________ 2005: Additional Data and Analysis on Kusunda (Nepal) – Mother Tongue, Journal of the Association for the Study of Language in Prehistory, Issue X 2005

Reinhard, J. and Toba, S. 1970: A Preliminary Linguistic Analysis and Vocabulary of the Kusunda Language’ Summer institute of Linguistics, Tribhuvan University, Nepal. September 1970.

Sayeed, Ausaf : Jarawa Tribes -- Confluence of The Present with The Past http://www.ausafsayeed.com/jarawa.html

Watters, David E. et.al 2005 : Notes on Kusunda grammar ( a language isolate of Nepal) – National Foundation for the Development of Indigenous Nationalities, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Witzel, Michael 2000: The Languages of Harappa [February 17, 2000]

Zide, Norman 1995 [?]: The Status of Nihali, University of Chicago http://www.ling.hawaii.edu/austroasiatic/AA/nihali

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'माओवादीले हतियार र कांग्रेसले राजामोह त्याग्नुपर्छ'
वनको राजस्व माओवादी कब्जामा
ँनागरिकताका नाममा मधेसीमाथि षड्यन्त्र’ माओवादीनिकटको 'मधेसी राष्ट्रिय मुक्ति मोर्चा' ले मधेसी समुदायलाई नागरिकता दिने नाममा सरकारले षड्यन्त्र गरिरहेको आरोप लगाएको छ । मोर्चाले नागरिकतामा भएको पहाडेकरण र टोपी लगाउनुपर्ने बाध्यात्मक प्रावधानविरुद्घ प्रतिकारात्मक संघर्षमा उत्रन आग्रह पनि गरेको छ । 'नागरिकतालगायत सम्पूर्ण हक अधिकारका लागि हामीले आवाज बुलन्द गरेपछि सत्तामा बसेकाहरू अत्तालिएर नागरिकता दिने टोलीमा पनि षड्यन्त्र हुन थालेको छ,' मोर्चाका मातृकाप्रसाद यादवद्वारा शनिबार जारी विज्ञप्तिमा भनिएको छ । दसबर्षे जनयुद्घ र १९ दिनको जनआन्दोलनबाट पनि मधेसी समस्याबारे शासकहरूको चिन्तन र व्यवहारमा कुनै परिवर्तन नआएको मोर्चाको ठहर छ । यसैगरी मोर्चाले आगामी मंसिर १६ गते र राजधानीमा दोस्रो राष्ट्रिय सम्मेलन गर्ने निर्णय गरेको छ । सम्मेलनका लागि मोर्चाले 'आत्मनिर्णयको अधिकार, स्वशासन समानुपातिक प्रतिनिधित्व, संघीय शासनका लागि सशक्त आन्दोलन, मधेसी स्वाभिमानको रक्षार्थ तथा राष्ट्रिय पहिचानका लागि दोस्रो राष्ट्रिय सम्मेलन' भन्ने मूल नारा तय गरेको छ ।
दलले राजतन्त्र बोकेर हिँड्दैनन्’
स्थानीयले पढाउँदा गुणस्तर बढ्यो
वाम्बुले राई भाषामा कविगोष्ठी
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माडीमा माओवादी
गुरुङ सम्पदा मार्ग

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Game Theory – The Classic Game is Prisoners’ Dilemma

Given the current strain condition between madhesis and paharis, it’s very difficult to trust each other. One may, for assurance sake, argue any thing. But the real fact is paharis had shown no fate on madhesis since last more than 260 years. As a result of which, madhesis could not find any responsibility in state defense, diplomacy, administration, and government representation. On the other hand, madhesi experience of paharis attitude and behavior for last 260 years has made them perceive this attitude as colonial strategy of pahari, which madhesi is not unwilling to accept any more. Breaking the deadlock of last 260, madhesis are asking right to rule themselves.

Explaining in term of Prisoner’s dilemma, madhesis are also facing dilemma. Madhesi's are not able to make strategy for future course, whether they should maintain status quo or march forward for non cooperation. Applying Game theory, one can predict that, the outcome will be the strategy for protecting individual interest. Madhesi and pahari, each one will apply individual rationality, and thus will maximize individual payoff. In the condition of mutual doubt, the resulting outcome is no-cooperation with each other, ultimately resulting in a more strain which can finally lead to a political and geographical line between madhesis and paharis.

The local version of game theory is also quite common.. It is said that, 1 and 1 when comes together, can make power of 11. But, it is only possible if both of them work and cooperate with each other. But if any group betrays, then there will be unequal division of payoff, i.e one group taking more that 5.5 point of payoff from power. This is where discontent arises. If the suppressed group continues to get less than 5.5 point of payoff from power, the relationship will not last longer.

This is the condition between madhesis and paharis right now. Paharis want to take more share of payoff, where as the relationship is believed to be on equality basis. Now even if madhesis is getting some payoff on investment of 1 but is less than 5.5 point of payoff from power, madhesis will not want to be in relationship any further.

The above two concept explains to most extend, the strategy madhesis will adopt further. State restructuring will be the minimum and first step in this direction. Given that majority madhesis are distributed along a specific geography, state restructuring will only ensure of regional administrative equality, but other issues that will be left are participation in state defense, diplomatic and central resource planning & distribution.

Ram Manohar Sah