Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 03 May 2008 18:59

Paul, I do not believe that is correct. Please check out the article by Mr. Hormis Tharakkan in the Indian Express posted on this thread. India has been involved in Nepal since the start of the revolt.

Paul · Post by **Paul** » 03 May 2008 19:10

Rye:No question about it...I agree as well. However, what I am referring to in my post is the Maoist angst at the NSA's vote of approval for the nepali Congress with which it has been working for some time.

I recall a dated article about RN Kao intervening to release one of the Koiralas from in the 70s when caught in a fake currency smuggling racket. So India's involvement in Nepal is a fact from the word go. What Indian establishment I believe has been doing is to wean the maoists from their violent path of action and ease them into th epolitical mainstream and make them a junior partner in the political process. The Indian communists on the other hand want to make Nepal a commie bastion from where they will launch further activities into the Indian state.

This must not be allowed to happen.

sanjaychoudhry · Post by **sanjaychoudhry** » 03 May 2008 19:19

The best option for India would have been the relationship America has with Saudi Arabia -- guarantee that the rule of the ruling family will be protected by India in return for absolute allegience. This is also the relationship the British used to have with Indian kings till independence. The Hindu character of Nepal should have been retained.

The Maoists should have been defeated and finished militarily. Maoists are assertive, dislike India and have foriegn linkages. They should never have been allowed within a sniffing distance of political power, democracy or no democracy.

Even today, if India wants to protect its long-term interests, it has to eliminate the Maoists from the country and castrate them. For this, a military coup has to be engineered there. Maoists have absolutely nothing to offer to India except hatred. They are the cat's paw of a foriegn power hostile to India.

vsudhir · Post by **vsudhir** » 03 May 2008 20:01

The best option for India, and I daresay for the values, traditions, culture, faith and folklore indigenious to Nepal, is for Nepal to merge with India on favorable terms, such as those given to a Sikkim, for instance.

Nepal is too big to be managed like a Bhutan, unfortunately.

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 03 May 2008 20:04

The Koiralas and the Nepali royalty have proved not just useless to Indian interests, but have in fact eroded Indian interests significantly. Democracy and elections and getting a popular govt. elected gives India a more long-term partner that cuts across Nepali govts -- such a relationship is of more value to India rather than some worthless "hindu" royalty that have done India a lot of harm for the past half a century, including the Koiralas and the Nepali Congress. The Koiralas were very active in trying to bring China into Nepal, and wanted China to be included in all the regional groupings and they snubbed the PM a couple of years ago and said some pretty effed up things about the GoI and India in general.

The NSA was clearly fully aware of that when he said -- I suspect this is the DDM oiseaules reporting half the sentence and leaving out the other half. India's stance has always been that it supports all sides of Nepali democracy and the fundamental idea of Nepali democracy...so why would the NSA make such a self-defeating statement from the India POV?

satya · Post by **satya** » 03 May 2008 20:19

It will be interesting to see if we can take lead in getting hydro-power projects in Nepal ahead of PRC , this will be main area of confrontation btw India & PRC. Can someone provide in which region of Nepal is the max potential of hydro-power generation ? By any co-incidence does it come in Madeheshi region/tarai region on Nepal side ( majority of power generation ) ?

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 03 May 2008 20:48

Getting a foot in the door to building Hydel plants in Terai seems like an absolute imperative before the competition has the ability to influence the current situation. Besides, the madhesis acquiring the ability to hold a knife at the throat of their adversaries might be a good thing. Hope India snags the construction contracts for all those hydel plants, if and when all the current confusion and disorder settles.

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 03 May 2008 20:58

If you look at the timeline, anti-India activities sponsored by the ISI received a big boost right after the Nepali congress came to power after the agitation in the late 80s-ealry 90s. I remember reading an Frontline article 15years ago where the D-company had established themselves in Nepal and were running a flourishing fake currenncy racket there. Their man originally from Pakistan had settled down in Nepal and was prostlylizing activities as well. He had to be bumped off.

Wow Paulji do we really do that these days? Early 90s and late 80s were not a very politically favourable era IMHO for this kind of stuff to happen (ofcourse I undestand Nepal is a different ball game). But then they must have been that desperate to actually take him out. Interesting.

Paul · Post by **Paul** » 04 May 2008 22:47

The task of getting rid of Miza Dilshad Beg was outsourced to the Chota Rajan gang. A reminder to those bewailing the Maoist threat and the demise of the "only Hindu monarchy : about bad things were 10 years ago.

Skulduggery and collusion

There is growing concern in Nepal over the tendency of criminal and terrorist forces making Kathmandu their major base on the one hand, and it turning into the centre of espionage activity in the region on the other.

RITA MANCHANDA

ABDUCTIONS, counterfeit currency capers, RDX smuggling, gun running and hijacking - the criminalisation of Shangrila seems complete. Over the last five years, the Nepalese media have been reporting sporadic discoveries of caches of research department explosive and arrests of suspected agents of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) smuggling the explosives, counterfeit Indian currency or even walkie-talkie sets. Why is Nepal becoming a haven for criminal and indeed terrorist activities? Is it that Nepal's policing system is weak? Is it that its legal system, which evolved, as former Speaker Daman Dungana says, "to meet the limited challenges of a small insulated state", is unable to cope with the political criminalisation and terrorism that have spilled out from its neighbours?

REMI BENALI/GAMMA
In Kathmandu. The once peaceful valley has been transformed of late into a hotbed of subversive activities.

What happens to the arrested persons? Two officials of the Pakistani embassy, who were caught red-handed in ISI-sponsored scams - Asim Saboor in January 2000 and Mohammad Arshad Cheema in April 2001, have been sent back amidst much media glare (Frontline, May 11, 2001). But what of the others - Nepali, Indian and Pakistani nationals reportedly implicated in ISI-linked subversive activities in Nepal? Evidently they are not in jail in Nepal. Also there is considerable confusion about what they could be charged with under Nepal's legal system. According to Sushil Pyakurel, a member of Nepal's National Human Rights Commission, the police have not responded to the Commission's repeated inquiries about the whereabouts of 'missing' persons who are believed to have been arrested, or what they were charged with. Apparently no one implicated in such activities has been brought to trial in Nepal. Neither has anyone been extradited, that is, not since Sucha Singh, an accused in the Pratap Singh Kairon murder case in the 1960s. So where are they?

Many of the missing people suggest that they could have slipped through the porous border with India, but there are also reports of cloak-and-dagger collusion between the Nepalese and Indian police and the abduction of 'suspects'. For instance, Prem Bahadur Chettri, a Nepali national, at present in jail in Lucknow, claims he was abducted from Kathmandu with the connivance of Indian embassy officials and taken across the border to Gorakhpur (The Kathmandu Post, April 24). In a letter from jail, Chettri who had served for 22 years in the Indian Army, said he had gone to the pension camp in Thamel, Kathmandu, to collect his pension and had been referred to the Indian Embassy for some clarification. Once there, he claims, he was tied up and rendered unconscious. The next thing he knew was that he woke up in Gorakhpur, he says. According to Chettri, several Nepali ex soldiers have been picked up under suspicion of being ISI agents.

Indian embassy sources have declined to comment. However, they have alluded to a March 23 report in The Hindustan Times, about the arrest of seven serving Nepali (Gorkha) soldiers in the Indian Army who were charged with working for the ISI. Chettri's arrest was linked to that. The issue here is not his arrest but his alleged abduction, a criminal act.

The Indian embassy's ubiquitous presence in Nepal is further clear from the case of Cheema. Madhav Thapa, the police officer who caught the Pakistani diplomat, had referred to a "special source" which by all indications was the Indian Home Ministry's agencies.

The alleged underhand dealings between India and Nepal involve not just fraternal links but a network of quid pro quos and bribes, and have questionable legality, considering the enforced disappearances, denials and abusive practices. A case in point, according to human rights organisations in Nepal, is that of two missing Kashmiris, Mohammad Shafi Rah and Mushtaq Ahmad Rah, who were allegedly taken away from their residence in the Samakhusi area of Kathmandu on the night of August 27-28, 2000 by plainclothes Nepal police. Reports of a police operation against Kashmiri suspects had appeared in several newspapers of the valley. Saptahik Vimarsh, in its September 1 issue, reported the arrest of the Rah brothers and claimed that the Nepal police had handed them over to the Indian authorities. The Himalayan Times, another Nepali daily, carried a similar report on September 6, 2000. Three days later, The Kathmandu Post reported that 27 Kashmiris, mostly businessmen, had been arrested during the first week of September and that their whereabouts were not known. Quoting "reliable sources", the report claimed that they were kept in "secret detention centres" in the Kathmandu valley. Some of the Kashmiris who were arrested and later released said that the police had taken them to unknown destinations, while others said they were taken to police stations. All except the two brothers were released.

To date the Nepal police have not acknowledged the arrests. Ratan Lal, the landlord of Mohammad Shafi Rah, had approached the Thamel police station but was advised to keep out of the matter, as it was a 'militancy'-related matter. Since then the family of the two 'arrested' Kashmiris has approached the Nepal police, the Interpol office in Kathmandu and the Indian embassy in Kathmandu. The eldest brother, Mohammad Yasin, tried in vain to contact two officers in the Indian embassy. The family's appeal to India's National Human Rights Commission, Home Ministry as well as the External Affairs Ministry, did not help. However, a fortnight before the two were picked up, their elderly father was interrogated in Srinagar to ascertain their whereabouts. The National Human Rights Commission of Nepal has written to the Director-General of Police for information about their whereabouts but has received no response.

Mohammad Shafi Rah is one of hundreds of Kashmiris who, during the decade of militancy in Kashmir, migrated to Nepal and set up shops in the tourist market of Thamel. According to the Srinagar-based lawyer Pervez Imroz, who is inquiring into "enforced disappearences", he had come to Kathmandu in 1995 and was working as a dealer in leather goods in Thamel. Early in the 1990s, he had joined the militancy and gone across the border for training. Soon after his return to Kashmir he was captured but was released. To escape continuing harassment by the police as also the suspicion of militants that he was a police informer, he moved to Nepal. His younger brother, who was picked up with him, had come visiting. Reportedly, the arrest of a person in India caused the finger of suspicion to point to Rah. The police continue to deny that the brothers were picked up, let alone handed over to the Indian authorities.

It begs the question as to what Nepal's laws are with regard to persons whose activities are deemed dangerous to or are of a terrorist nature vis-a-vis a friendly neighbour. Why should a clandestine and illegal network be used, and why not the due process of law? Worse still, the public resentment in Nepal against India feeds on the feeling that it bullies Nepal. Human rights activist Tapan Bose, who is the secretary-general of the South Asia Forum for Human Rights in Kathmandu, says that the impression gaining ground in Nepal is that India is pressuring the Nepal police to hand over suspects wanted in India and this will ultimately weaken Nepal's capacity to develop efficient policing practices to control crime and terrorism. Secondly, the underhand means adopted cannot give legitimacy to the cooperation between India and Nepal. And finally, it gives rise to the feeling that there is no popular support for Nepal cooperating with the Indian police and that India is corrupting the Nepal police, according to Bose.

INDIA and Nepal have an extradition treaty that dates back to 1953, but its provisions have been used only once. Indeed, discussions are going on to review the treaty. The Indian side has submitted a draft, which includes two controversial clauses. One relates to the extradition of nationals of third countries wanted for criminal/terrorist activities and the other is a kind of enabling framework for the Indian police to operate de facto across the border. Nepal is unwilling to accept these changes.

"Extradition treaty or no extradition treaty - that is not what is crucial. What is crucial is political will. Basically Nepal has to establish why a third country is permitted to go on the rampage in this country," said an Indian embassy source. Assurances are given at the political level, with Foreign Minister Chakra Prasad Banstola reiterating that "our position is that we will not allow Nepali soil to be used against any of our neighbours". But in India there is mounting suspicion, fanned by intelligence-agency-inspired reports in the Indian media, that Nepal is becoming a hotbed for criminal and terrorist subversive activities by multiple intelligence agencies - the ISI and India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) topping the list and the agencies of North Korea, China and the United States not far behind. They have converted Nepal, which is geo-strategically located, has a liberal visa regime and has an open border with India, into a "playground of spies".

In Nepal there is a crisis of credibility about the Indian media's description of the country. Anger at media reports that have been quick to blame Nepal has resulted in scepticism about the ISI's use of Nepal as a base for anti-India activities. Nepal bashing by the Indian electronic media in its coverage of the Indian Airlines hijacking in December 1999 and in particular, the accusation levelled by a passenger that a Nepali Pashmina trader was one of the hijackers, has produced lasting resentment about media irresponsibility. To make matters worse, a Delhi-based weekly published a game plan for subversion, which was virtually a who's who of Nepal. It provokedKunda Dixit, Editor of Nepali Times, to lash out at 'India scapegoating Nepal' to cover up its own weaknesses.

How much is fact and how much is manipulation in the murky spy games may never be known, but there is a growing sense of concern in Nepal about the tendency of criminal and terrorist forces making Kathmandu a base. Moreover, with a five-year-old Maoist insurgency active in two-thirds of Nepal, even the most sanguine in Kathmandu are taking notice.

WHAT then is Nepal planning to do to gear up its policing and legal systems? Legal experts like former Speaker Daman Dungana acknowledge that Nepal's laws - the anti-explosives law, the Act with respect to the possession of illegal arms, the State Offences Act, and so on - were designed to meet the specific and limited challenges of a small self-contained state, and not to cope with the fallout from the criminalisation of politics across the border. Although the Nepal police on occasion have cooperated to stomp out anti-Indian terrorist activities (for which former Indian Ambassador K.V. Rajan praised the Nepal police), police sources candidly admit that it has not been an issue of priority.

Sudheer Sharma, a reporter with Himal Khabar Patrika who has followed the espionage networks, suggests that as these activities are seen not as being against Nepal but as being against India, the police tend not to give it great priority. Nepal's recently established anti-terrorist cell is to deal with all subversive activity. Not surprisingly it focusses more on the Maoist People's War. Also, as yet the police have not been able to get their hands on evidence to establish where the RDX comes from and where it goes. Those arrested have been more like 'runners'. In the Cheema case, Indian intelligence agencies revealed (The Hindu, April 24) that the 16 kg of RDX he was caught with was meant for the Maoist rebels in Nepal. Significantly, no Nepali newspaper has focussed on the Pakistan-Maoist nexus.

Allegations about Nepal being the centre of espionage in the region have grown in strength over the last five years, especially after one of the Memon brothers, implicated in the Mumbai bomb blasts, was picked up in 1994 from Kathmandu and not from New Delhi railway station, as given out officially. The murder of the Nepali Member of Parliament, Mirza Dilshad Beg, as being a fallout of the Dawood-Chotta Rajan gang war exposed the regional spread of communalised criminal gangs. In 1995-96, a series of raids on the basis of 'tip-offs' resulted in several arrests of suspected Pakistani agents and discoveries of RDX caches. One raid blew the cover off an ISI-North Korean operation involving the smuggling of 40 walkie-talkie sets that were to be shipped to militants in northeast India. Indian intelligence agencies have been watching activities in Nepal, especially those relating to the militant groups of the northeastern States.

Much of the intelligence about the ISI link has been gathered through the interrogation of captured militants in India, say intelligence sources in Nepal. For example, Kashmiri militants arrested in connection with the 1996 blast in New Delhi's Lajpat Nagar market confessed to having links with an ISI operative in Nepal, who had supplied the explosives. Close on its heels came the high-profile seizure of 20 kg of RDX on December 25, 1996 from Manzoor Ahmed Dainposh alias "John", a Kashmiri shopkeeper in Thamel. Again, the Nepali police were tipped off by Indian intelligence agents, after the seizure of 4.5 kg of RDX just days earlier in Delhi. According to Indian police sources, the ISI had made available to Kashmiri militants in Kathmandu an improvised explosive device in order to create disturbances on Republic Day. During a raid by the Nepali police, three Kashmiri militants reportedly escaped to India. At the time, a large section of the Nepali media expressed scepticism about the "frequent and convenient" seizures of RDX packets, which were played up in the India media.

It was in 1998 that the needle of suspicion began to point to the Pakistan embassy. In November 1998, a Sikh militant, Lakhbir Singh, was picked up, and his terrorist connection again went back to Nepal where 18 kg of RDX was found and the packaging indicated its Pakistani origin. According to intelligence sources, sketches of three persons were produced on the basis of an "identity kit". They approximated to the identity of two diplomats and a staff member in the Pakistan embassy in Nepal. No action was taken. The evidence was not found to be "clinching", the Nepali authorities explained. Since then Cheema (reportedly the ISI unit chief in Kathmandu) and Asim Saboor, an official in the embassy, were kept under surveillance. In the media reportage of the Indian Airlines hijacking, Cheema was said to have handed over weapons to the hijackers. But there was no clinching proof.

The Cheema story also has its curiosities, not least because the timing of the discovery - on the eve of the diplomat's departure after a three-year stint in Nepal. Apparently his successor had moved into his residence and Cheema was staying in the guest house of a Pakistan road construction company, Satchel Engineering. Pakistan embassy sources vouchsafe his innocence and protest against the Nepal government keeping the embassy in the dark over Cheema's surveillance or the exclusion of the embassy representative during the raid. "Why was the RDX not recovered in Cheema's presence," they ask. The heat is now on Satchel Engineering, which is named as an ISI front company.

According to Nepali police sources, a tip-off from Indian intelligence sources had galvanised them into action. Cheema was released amidst protestations of innocence by the Pakistan embassy while the Indian embassy insisted that Cheema's diplomatic immunity be waived and he be tried for committing a criminal offence in Nepal.

Where do facts end and manipulation begin? In Nepal, credibility is a casualty when it comes to the spy vs spy games. This is especially so "as Kathmandu is crawling with locals, both government officials and private citizens who are only too eager to assist or provide information to anyone for a price," says Suman Pradhan, a special correspondent with The Kathmandu Post. "Foreign intelligence agencies thrive in a 'cash first' environment," he added. The report of a couple of Indian nationals being caught by the police for carrying counterfeit Indian currency is now doing the rounds. The police allegedly encouraged them to say that they were ISI agents. The story may be apocryphal, but it has disturbing implications for not only the corruption of the Nepali police and the corrosion of the police system but, worse, for popular approval for India-Nepal cooperation in tackling the criminalisation of Nepal.

http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/fline/ ... 100540.htm

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=di ... tnG=Search

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 04 May 2008 23:06

This Tapan Bose is working for western interests -- note the spin given to the situation coincides with the spin given by western media.

Human rights activist Tapan Bose, who is the secretary-general of the South Asia Forum for Human Rights in Kathmandu, says that the impression gaining ground in Nepal is that India is pressuring the Nepal police to hand over suspects wanted in India and this will ultimately weaken Nepal's capacity to develop efficient policing practices to control crime and terrorism. (how does that follow, Mr. Tapan Bose? Was this another result produced via the world-famous anal-extraction technique of analysis?) Secondly, the underhand means adopted cannot give legitimacy to the cooperation between India and Nepal. And finally, it gives rise to the feeling that there is no popular support for Nepal cooperating with the Indian police and that India is corrupting the Nepal police, according to Bose.

Now, why would Tapan Bose say such a thing if his agenda was pro-India?

sum · Post by **sum** » 05 May 2008 08:41

The murder of the Nepali Member of Parliament, Mirza Dilshad Beg, as being a fallout of the Dawood-Chotta Rajan gang war

IMO,This was the same trick the IB was trying to get a hit on Dawood in Pak when the Delhi police, in a act of foolishness, arrested the Chotta Rajan gang member who was selected for the job by the IB before he could depart for Pak......

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 05 May 2008 11:39

B Raman in the pioneer; lost the link

RNA better than PLA

B Raman

Maoists led by Prachanda coming to power, and sticking to it, is in the interest of neither Nepal nor India. Sooner or later, they will export their 'revolution' to India. This must be prevented at all cost: If it means an Army takeover of Nepal, so be it

Ultimately, we will have to fight with the Indian Army. That is the situation. Therefore, we have to take into account the Indian Army. When the Indian Army comes in with thousands and thousands of soldiers, it will be a very big thing. But we are not afraid of the Indian Army because, in one way, it will be a very good thing. They will give us lots of guns. And lots of people will fight them. This will be a national war. And it will be a very big thing. They will have many difficulties intervening. It will not be so easy for them. But if they stupidly dare... they will dare, they will be compelled. They will do that stupidity. We have to prepare for that. And for that reason we are saying we will also need a particular international situation. And for us this has to do mainly with India, Indian expansionism. When there is an unstable situation in India and a strong mass base there in support of People's War in Nepal and there are contradictions within the Indian ruling class -- at that point we can seize, we can establish and declare that we have base areas, that we have a Government."

-- Prachanda, the Nepalese Maoist leader, in an interview to a Latin American journalist

As a successful democracy, India cannot support a military coup in any country. But sometimes, in our national interest, we may have to close our eyes to a military takeover or to the evils of military rule in a neighbouring country.

As we have been doing in the case of Myanmar for over a decade now. As we did in Bangladesh last year when chronic political instability seemed to be pushing the country into the hands of jihadi terrorists of various hues and vintage.

We may be well-advised to do so if the Royal Nepalese Army decides to prevent the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists), led by Prachanda, which has emerged as the leading party in the recent election, from using its position as the leader of the Government to convert the RNA with its glorious traditions into the People's Liberation Army of Nepal patterned after the PLA of China and North Korea and after the Cuban Army.

In his statements and interviews before the election, Prachanda has given clear indications of his priorities if the Maoists came to power. First, abolish the monarchy and proclaim Nepal as a republic with a presidential form of Government. Second, himself assume office as the President of Nepal. Third, abrogate all existing agreements with India and re-negotiate those of them, which are considered to be in Nepal's interests. Finally, merge the armed cadre of the Maoists into the RNA to convert a royalist Army into a people's Army.

After Mao Tse-tung's PLA captured power in China in 1949 and proclaimed the People's Republic of China, the PLA became the Army of the state. The leaders of the Chinese Communist Party proclaimed China as the "rear base" for all Communist movements in Asia. It assisted North Korea in its war with the US-led coalition, North Vietnam in its war initially against the French and subsequently against the Americans and the South Vietnamese Army, and the Communist insurgencies in Malaysia, northern Thailand and Myanmar, and helped the Indonesian Communists in a big way till the military coup staged by the Indonesian Army under President Suharto saved the country from falling into the hands of the Communists.

The Burmese Army under Gen Ne Win similarly captured power in the early-1960s to prevent that country from falling into the hands of the Communists and other ethnic insurgent groups. In 1979, after 30 years of trying to export Maoism, Deng Xiaoping changed this policy and stopped exporting 'revolution' to other countries.

After capturing power in Cuba in the early-1960s, Mr Fidel Castro converted his armed guerrillas into the Army of the state and embarked on a policy of exporting the Cuban revolution to other Latin American countries, with Cuba serving as the rear base. The death of Che Guavera, who was asked to have this policy executed, allegedly at the hands of the Central Intelligence Agency, put an end to Cuba's Communist dreams in Latin America, but till today, the Cuban Government and Communist Party continue with their attempts at political subversion in the Latin American countries.

Only Vietnam proved a refreshing contrast. After they defeated the Americans and the South Vietnamese Army in 1975 and re-united their country, they concentrated on development at home and avoided all ideological adventures abroad.

Which model will Prachanda and his Maoists follow? Will it be the Chinese, the Cuban or the Vietnamese model? If one goes by his past statements and interviews, he is likely to follow a mix of the Chinese and Cuban models, and not the Vietnamese. He has always been attracted by the idea of Nepal serving as a rear base for exporting Maoist revolution to India. He also believes that a destabilised India preoccupied with internal security as being in the long-term interests of Nepal. We should not allow his present charm offensive towards India make us forget his past.

Till now, our military planners have been worried over the dangers of India being confronted one day with a two-front war -- with Pakistan and China. We now have to think seriously about the dangers of a three-front war with Pakistan, China and Nepal.

Once Communists come to power -- through an armed revolution or through the ballot box -- they try to see that nobody can dislodge them. There have been exceptions, of course. Nicaragua, for example. But, there the Communists were prevented from entrenching themselves through strong US support for non-Communist elements.

It is neither in the interests of Nepal nor of India for the Maoists to entrench themselves in power and convert the RNA into the PLA of Nepal and turn Nepal into a rear base to help the Maoists in India. The plans of the Maoists for a presidential form of Government in Nepal with all powers concentrated in the hands of Prachanda and with the RNA replaced by the PLA should be thwarted.

All genuinely democratic forces in Nepal and the military leadership should join hands to prevent the Communists from carrying out their long-term designs. The Communists will fight back ferociously all attempts to deny them the fruits of power. The fear of a possibly bloody riposte by the Communists should not deter those worried over the implications of the Maoists' plan from acting before it is too late.

rsingh · Post by **rsingh** » 05 May 2008 12:00

100% agree. Posted on this weeks ago.

Karan Dixit · Post by **Karan Dixit** » 05 May 2008 12:30

I agree with B Raman as well.

I am beginning to believe that there are forces who are hell bent on brining misery to our Nepali brothers and sisters. If military take over of Nepal will guarantee the safety and security of our brothers and sisters in Nepal, I am all for it. Cost of inaction in Nepal will be enormous.

Anabhaya · Post by **Anabhaya** » 08 May 2008 19:51

Indian Ambassador to Nepal meets chairman of CPN-M

Indian Envoy Sood Meets PM Koirala
Sood continues parleys with top leaders

Nepal Maoist chief attends meet honouring Hindu icon

Anabhaya · Post by **Anabhaya** » 08 May 2008 19:55

Nepal police detain more than 200 Tibetans protesters

Nepal has said it will not allow protests against China that might jeopardize close relations between the countries. Police have broken up almost all of the demonstrations.

Detained protesters are generally freed later in the day.

No change in looking at Maoists: US State Department

World Bank gives 50 million dollars to Nepal peace process

The funds, the largest such aid flow since the peace process began more than a year ago, will be used as compensation for families of the 13,000 people killed in the civil war and for the allowances of some 20,000 Maoist former guerrillas confined to UN monitored camps, the World Bank statement said Wednesday.

Anabhaya · Post by **Anabhaya** » 09 May 2008 17:39

Maoists open talks to form new government in Nepal

Nepal's Maoists and mainstream political parties held a first round of talks Friday to set up a new government following the former insurgents' stunning win in landmark polls, officials said.

The world's last Hindu monarchy is set to be abolished in the first meeting of the constituent assembly which is expected to take place in coming weeks. The fiercely republican Maoists want to see the end of the 240-year-old institution as soon as possible.

"We are confident that the country will be declared a republic within 21 days. No one should doubt this," said Sharma.

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 11 May 2008 17:49

Future Chairman Mao of Nepal is "burnt" by maoists

Paul · Post by **Paul** » 13 May 2008 01:44

X-post from army thread

[quote]New Delhi, May 12 (IANS)Indiaâ€™s first field marshal, S.H.F.J. Manekshaw, preferred calling himself Sam â€˜Bahadurâ€™ as a sign of respect for the brave Gorkha soldiers, most of whom came from Nepal. However, a call by Nepal Maoist chief Prachanda not to allow them to join the Indian army could impact on traditional military ties between the two countries. â€œIf anyone says he is not afraid of anything, either he is lying or he is a Gorkha,â€

Anabhaya · Post by **Anabhaya** » 13 May 2008 02:19

600 Tibetan protesters detained in Nepal

It was the largest number of protesters detained on a single day since Tibetan exiles began almost daily protests in March against Chinese policies in Tibet. It was also the first time only women demonstrated.

Chinese envoy sees 'foreign hand' behind Tibetans' protest

Speaking at the Reporters Club Monday, ambassador Xianglin said that the "separatists" are funded by anti-China foreign elements and that their objective would never be fulfilled. "Disintegration of China is impossible," the visibly agitated ambassador stated.

Responding to a query on China's position over the future Maoist-led government, Xianglin said Chinese government will continue its support to Nepal irrespective of the change in the government here.

China asks Nepal to punish Tibetans severely

It is not sufficient to arrest them in the morning and release them in the evening as the government here is doing almost everyday, he said, adding that the protesters even tried to damage the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu on a number of occasions.

Anabhaya · Post by **Anabhaya** » 13 May 2008 02:30

Indian envoy, TMDP leaders call on Maoist leadership

We won't accept Koirala as President: Maoist leader

The Next Step in Nepal:
An Interview with Dr. Baburam Bhattarai of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)

Nepal: From guns to democracy

For India the result is not unwelcome though it is a bolt from the blue. The immediate fall-out is that with monarchy gone and the army subjugated, for the first time Delhi can now deal with one centre of power even though it will be a Maoist-led coalition government.

Despite the spin and damage-containment only a small section of the establishment has reconciled to the new ground reality, recognising it as an opportunity to rewrite the warped India-Nepal relationship. But majority of officialdom including chunks of the Congress and bulk of the BJP parties, are steeped in the old mindset: Hindu Monarchy, special relationship and security concerns.

Gen Rukmangad Katwal has said the army will have no difficulty in taking orders from a legitimate government but it could not induct ideologically motivated PLA. The Maoists have made integration of the two armies a prestige issue. Before they came to political eminence, a deal had been struck to take in about 4,000 of the 19,000 PLA made eligible by UN verification. Prachanda has formed a new integration committee which will work in tandem with the writing of the constitution. Erstwhile enemies turning allies can be disorienting.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 13 May 2008 03:04

Nepal King set to lose his crown on May 28

Kathmandu, May 12: Nepalâ€™s government announced on Monday that its new constitution-drafting body would meet for the first time on May 28 when it is due to formally abolish the monarchy and declare the country a republic.

The Maoists, who scored a surprise victory in landmark elections last month, have vowed that the monarchy would be scrapped during the first sitting of the assembly.

The former rebels overturned all predictions in the April polls, winning 220 of the 601 seats in the constitutional assembly â€” more than twice the number of their nearest rivals and pre-election favourites, the Nepali Congress.

"The Prime Minister has sent letters to all the participating political parties calling for the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly on May 28," Aditya Baral, adviser to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, said.

King Gyanendraâ€™s fall from power will mark the end of the worldâ€™s only Hindu monarchy, which has been on the throne for 240 years.

King Gyanendra, who is seen by supporters as a reincarnation of Vishnu, has endured a traumatic and short reign.

He took the throne in 2001 after a drunk and drugged Crown Prince Dipendra massacred nine members of the royal family and then killed himself, after being forbidden from marrying the woman he loved.

Already unpopular, King Gyanendraâ€™s popularity hit rock bottom when he sacked the government and took direct control of the impoverished nation in February 2005. The move pushed Nepalâ€™s mainstream political parties into an alliance with their former foes, the Maoist insurgents, and resulted in the 2006 peace pact that ended a civil war in which more than 13,000 people died.

The Maoists on Monday welcomed the announced date of the constitutional assemblyâ€™s first meeting. "We have received the letter from the Prime Minister and we are excited about that day," said senior Maoist leader Dinanath Sharma.

"Nepal will formally be declared a federal democratic country and we will get rid of the 240-year-old institution of monarchy. It will be a historic day for the country. This date will in future always be known as Republic Day."

He added that his party was still holding meetings with other groups over the formation of a new coalition government under the Maoistsâ€™ leadership. "This might take place before or after the first assembly meeting," he said.

Debate has raged in the mainstream parties about whether to join a coalition led by the Maoists.

(AFP)

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 15 May 2008 21:53

â€˜Indiaâ€™s strategic moves to save Nepal Monarchy onâ€™

[quote]With the countdown to the ouster of King Gyanendra from Narayanhiti Royal Palace already begun, the RAW-Indiaâ€™s Intelligence Agency has been actively involved to cut short the process of the declaration of Republic in Nepal.

The Mahima National Daily dated May 15, 2008 reveals that a seven member high level RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) delegation is currently in Nepal to bring to an end to the process of the declaration of Republic.

The Mahima Weekly adds Indiaâ€™s former ambassador to Nepal Mr. K.V. Rajan who is the deputy to Indiaâ€™s National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan, met with King Gyanendra on Tuesday, May 13, 2008, at around mid-night.

â€œIt has been agreed between Nepalâ€™s King Gyanendra and Mr. Rajan that the process adopted to declare Nepal a republic has inherent flaws in it and thus the process must be haltedâ€

vsudhir · Post by **vsudhir** » 16 May 2008 00:17

An Indian-Nepalese confederation is on the cards. Or so I hope.

The commies are welcome to start spreading this rumor in order to pre-empt it. WOuld only help India, methinks. With so many Nepalese licving and workin g here, it is hard to think the aam Nepali would think that conditions in India are much worse than in Nepal. Just wondering onlee.

sanjaychoudhry · Post by **sanjaychoudhry** » 16 May 2008 00:39

Indiaâ€™s strategic moves to save Nepal Monarchy onâ€™

Saving the monarchy and declaring Nepal again as a Hindu country is the best bet for India. Nepal should have a constitutional monarchy, like the UK. There is no reason why it should be abolished. And India should sign a pact with the royalty giving a guarantee to the King of the security and continuance of the institution of the Nepal monarchy. (Making the monarcy dependent on India in this way will ensure it never flirts with China again, otherwise India can threaten to trigger "abolish monarchy" movement anytime.)

Monarchy is the only thing that holds the country together. It should never be abolished. If King Gyanendra and his son Paras are not popular, then his baby grandson Hridayandra should be declared the heir to the throne. This is the best solution for India. By abolishing monarchy, India will fall in the Western trap.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 17 May 2008 00:43

â€˜Indiaâ€™s border infrastructure with Nepal inadequateâ€™
[quote] There is a need to dramatically improve the quality of the border infrastructure with Nepal, especially in the context of increased Chinese political penetration in that country, a former official in charge of internal security said here. Satish Chandra, an Indian Foreign Service official who had served as Indiaâ€™s Deputy National Security Adviser, said that the issue of border infrastructure was significant and the roads that had been planned in 2000-1 have yet to be built.

â€œWe always get messages from the Indian embassy that the border checkposts are not adequate. A task force was set up and they found after visiting the border that the situation was worse than reported,â€

Aryavarta · Post by **Aryavarta** » 17 May 2008 02:06

vsudhir wrote: ... With so many Nepalese licving and workin g here, it is hard to think the aam Nepali would think that conditions in India are much worse than in Nepal. Just wondering onlee.

I was roommates with a colleague from Nepal for a few days. He was a likeable guy and would mix up well with most of us Indians at the company. On being asked, how do average Nepalese view Indians as, he gave a guarded answer, which went like ..."You know for most of us Nepalese, first interaction with Indians happen with mostly laborers from UP and Bihar who have settled in Nepal. So naturally most of us equate Indians with these laborers while growing up, and consider ourselves much better off"

sumit-mia · Post by **sumit-mia** » 17 May 2008 02:15

[quote]Indiaâ€™s role on monarchy in Nepal. What is your observation?

They are the real winner, no matter what happens in our country. If the Monarchy continues in Nepal they have said that they will treat him as the Hindu Emperor. Even now the King of Nepal will receive a joyous welcome in India. They have already said that they will accord him top priority if he wants to live there. They will treat him as if he is the â€œKing of Indiaâ€

GuruPrabhu · Post by **GuruPrabhu** » 17 May 2008 02:18

I Should say the chances of Bangladesh merging with Bay of Bengal are better and more important

sumit-mia · Post by **sumit-mia** » 17 May 2008 02:41

GuruPrabhu wrote:I Should say the chances of Bangladesh merging with Bay of Bengal are better and more important

In your dream at best

GuruPrabhu · Post by **GuruPrabhu** » 17 May 2008 02:43

sumit-mia wrote:
GuruPrabhu wrote:I Should say the chances of Bangladesh merging with Bay of Bengal are better and more important
In your dream at best

Dreams are a mirror to reality

sumit-mia · Post by **sumit-mia** » 17 May 2008 02:46

GuruPrabhu wrote:
sumit-mia wrote: In your dream at best
Dreams are a mirror to reality

In your dream, and not beyond your dream. you know this

Muns · Post by **Muns** » 17 May 2008 02:48

A couple of points that cross my mind ;

a) I believe its in India's interest to get rid of the monachy. The King was never favorable to India's interests in the past with a history of irritations. Purchasing weapons from China and harbouring anti India elements were some instances.

b) We've tried to loosen the king's hold on the country and one way was to support Koirala and his party. Perhaps a similar plan to the chogyal of sikkim. I don't think we counted on the maoists winning in the election to be honest...the plan it seems was to see koirala into power, force the abolition of the monarchy and see a continued slew of trade agreements and border ease post....However a large red spanner got thrown in the works....and we now got damage control in motion...

c) I wouldn't be suprised if we're trying to woo prachanda with the same incentives we promised koirala....if he rejects and shuns India, while trying to cozy up to our red neighbour in the north...expect another round of interparty violence and explosions between Koirala and Prachanda supporters.

d) In any case I think India missed a large boat by not in the least trying to bridge inter people skills between Nepalese and Indian's....they seem distrustful of India in general even with so much history/religious and cultural sharing....thinking that as someone pointed out above that people from bihar and UP are waiting in the wings to take over much of their land.
We'd have done much to provide gorkha support and make their presence felt when things we're rocky.....even using Indians that have a huge support in Nepal like Prashant Tamang who seems to be idolised there post his success....creating a positive image of India among nepalese is a must....

e) There's no doubt of Nepals security to India itself. A chunk of India's water resource, religious and cultural attachment and people are integral to India's security...It would be a nightmare scenario for any foreign invader to sit at the head of the himalayas dictating terms and allowing Anti Indian elements into the country....in the long run more Indians would die unnecessarily and it would be another jolt to a long standing hindu culture in the himalayas.....

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 17 May 2008 04:36

Muns wrote:A couple of points that cross my mind ;

a) I believe its in India's interest to get rid of the monachy. The King was never favorable to India's interests in the past with a history of irritations. Purchasing weapons from China and harbouring anti India elements were some instances.

Monarchy is needed for geo-political reasons

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 17 May 2008 05:46

1) Monarchies are only stable in developed countries, not in poorer, undeveloped ones.

2) Maoists need to be destroyed in a dirty war style campaign, where no evidence of their fate is left.

Paul · Post by **Paul** » 17 May 2008 22:40

[quote]Front Page > Nation > Story

Indo-Nepal border happy with status quo
SANTOSH SINGH
Raniganj (Nepal), May 16: Nepalâ€™s man of the moment, Prachanda, may be pushing for a review of the 1950 Indo-Nepal treaty, but the people, especially those living along the countryâ€™s soft border, seem happy with the present status quo.

Rice, wheat or salt or the life-saving drugs, Nepal depends on its neighbour for most items.

A visit to Raniganj and Treveni under Nawal Parasi district via Valmiki Nagar (West Champaran) border (after crossing the Gandak barrage) makes the lopsided â€œsymbioticâ€

sanjaykumar · Post by **sanjaykumar** » 17 May 2008 22:57

Okay who are these border inhabitants-ethnically?

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 17 May 2008 23:03

Paul wrote:
Other the usual dirge of "Last Hindu monarchy on the face of the earth" Nobody on this forum has been able to provide a convincing explanation of what the monarchy has done to further Indian interests.

It is a symbol on which the EJs are attacking. The communist movement in the last 100 years had monarchy as the target. But communist movement was a tool of some other groups behind who were interested bringing down all monarchies in the world.
There is only one last remaining monarchy - British

Paul · Post by **Paul** » 17 May 2008 23:20

Acharya, I will post a detailed reply later. Too many things going on this weekend.

vsudhir · Post by **vsudhir** » 28 May 2008 23:07

Nepalese celebrate opening of new era and end of monarchy

Somini Sengupta can barely hide her paymasters' satisfaction at this turn of events, seems like.