Terai Unrest: Missing flip side of the coin

While brousing through the world of pages, I found this really nice article by Ameet Dhakal on Kantipuronline about the on going Terai Unrest. Madhesi People's Right Forum and other organisations on Madhesi rights have demanded fair proportion in parliament, federal system of governence among others. But reading this article, I felt everyone should think twice about the on going terai protests. Some demands are very genuine, they should be fulfilled, but it seems some are just for getting popular support. Read yourself and analyze yourself.

 

By Ameet Dhakal,

kantipuronline.com

On face value the demand for representation based on actual population in each district, as raised by various terai groups including ruling coalition member Nepal Sadbhavana Party, sounds justified.

But amidst the heat of a terai in flames the flip side of the coin is being completely missed, and even facts are being distorted.

The issue of "under-representation" from the terai should be viewed from three angles:

A. How severe is the case of "under-representation", and more importantly, whether it is deliberate?

B. The practicality of redrawing the constituencies in proportion to the population

C. Brining a development dimension into the representation issue.

Population is the first criteria, as it should be, in the current demarcation of the constituencies. Representation is not exactly in proportion to the population in the terai districts, but the terai is also not unfairly under-represented. Based on 2001 census- which is the latest one - for every 112,933.77 population there should be one electoral constituency. Let's us do a reality check in the eastern terai districts, where the agitation is currently concentrated. If constituencies were to be redrawn in proportion to the population, Siraha (where the current conflagration sparked) would have 5.06 constituencies, Saptari 5.02, Sunsari 5.5, Sarlahi 5.6, Dhanusha 5.9 and Morang 7.4. Now let's look at the number of the current constituencies in these districts. Siraha, Saptari, Sunsari, Sarlahi and Dhanusha have 5 constituencies each and Morang has 7 constituencies. How seriously underrepresented are these districts? Only by a fraction.

Is there a deliberate bias behind under-representing of ethnic Madhesis?

Currently, Kathmandu, Jhapa and Rupandehi are the three most under-represented districts. Based on population, Kathmandu should have 9.5 electoral constituencies and Jhapa and Rupendhei should have 6 each. But Kathmandu has only 7, Jhapa has 5 (after the deletion of one constituency this year) and Rupandehi also 5. Newars are the dominant ethnic group in Kathmandu, while Bahuns as a cast group are dominant in Jhapa and Rupandehi.

Now let's see the representation issue from the practical point of view. If constituencies are redrawn in proportion to the populations, then five districts in the northern-western strip - Humla, Mugu, Dolpa, Mustang and Manag - will have only one electoral constituency since the total population of these five districts is just 138,645. How will a candidate, say from Manang, campaign in Humla? The total area of this single constituency would be 22,898 square kilometers. In terms of geographical size this constituency will be larger than the 14 terai districts (with 71 constituencies) spreading from Jhapa to Dang (i.e., Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Saptari, Siraha, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Rautahat, Bara, Parsa, Nawalparasi, Rupandehi, Kapilvastu and Dang). These 14 districts together cover only 22,594 square kilometers. One can also compare the difficulty of campaigning in this mammoth constituency with electioneering in a constituency in the terai that a candidate can make two rounds of every day on a bicycle.

The problem with the current dispute on representation is, it's being argued as if headcount alone matters and geography is irrelevant. But the American experience says otherwise. For instance, the state of California has a population of over 36 million while the tiny northern-eastern state of Vermont has a population of just 623,000. Yet both states send two senators each to the US Senate. The US is not necessarily the best model, and we don't necessarily have to follow it. But there should be a fair balance between geography and population. That's why after 1990 the constituencies were redrawn dismantling what used to be either one or two constituencies per district during the Panchaayat era.

Finally, let's analyze the representation issue from a development perspective.

The argument for fair representation is that under-representation weakens the voice of a region which will have implications in policy formation and resource allocations.

If this argument is true, the representation of backward regions should be increased instead. In other words it makes little sense to increase the representation of districts with high Human Development Index (HDI) such as Kathamndu (HDI, 1), Rupandehi (HDI, 5), Jhapa (HDI, 18) and Kaski (HDI, 3) and reduce the representation of districts with low HDI such as Mugu (HDI, 75), Bajura (73), Kalikot (72), Bajhang (71) and Jajarkot (70).

By agreeing to increase the electoral constituencies in the terai districts in proportion to the rise in their population while keeping the number of constituencies in the hill districts unchanged, the government has tried to strike a balance. It should address the grievances of under-representation of the Madhesi population and also the representation needs of the sparsely populated hill districts.

Terai Unrest: Criminals take Charge of Demonstrations

Even after Prime Minister's address to the nation, terai hasn't come to rest. Reports say Sadvabana (A), one of the alliances of government, is considering to get out from the government. In this transitional time, when everyone should been united, the bloody political game is going on. We all understand and support the demands of Madhesi people, but is this the right way to put pressure on? Biratnagar is in indefinite curfew and even during curfew a police post is attacked and Sub-Inspector is killed, arms are looted. What kind of peaceful demonstration is this? What is Madhesi People's Right Forum (MRPF), organizer of demonstration doing? Press is under attacked, reporters are threatened or displaced. If they cannot accept free press and human rights, how they claim they are protesting for people's right. Can't they control their so called peaceful protestors? Or they also are being played by so called regressive forces? Are they going to take responsibilities for all this? The big questions are rising up.

The follow up article is from blog.com.np. This article has genuinely analyzed how criminals are infiltrating the demonstration.

With the heinous killing of Assistant Sub Inspector Naresh Jung Karki in Biratnagar this evening, it has become crystal clear that the ongoing movement in eastern Terai is more than just an expression of political dissatisfaction: it is overwhelmingly dominated by criminal intentions. To carry swords, iron rods and go on rampage in residential area can't be a political demonstration. To demand federalism and proportional representation in election is a political work but to continue with murderous activities even after listening the genuine answer from the government established by the peoples' movement is a deplorable act. Today's killing of the policeman and other violent activities in the recent past in eastern Terai marks the spectacular comeback of royalist elements in political scenario that were sidelined by people in April. It was an open secret that they would seek ways for comeback to try their best to make democracy a failure. They will do anything to create the impression that monarchy is needed in Nepal. They used the Maoist movement in the past for the same and now they are trying to deliver this message: look what's happening when king is sidelined. They will do everything to turn these demonstrations into full fledged communal conflict in Nepal which will ultimately weaken peoples' united power to run the government.

How can anyone justify the brutal killing of a policeman? [ASI Naresh Jung Karki was leading a 13-member police team at Buddhanagar, Biratnagar at 5 pm this evening. Criminals associating themselves with the Madheshi Peoples' Rights Forum (MPRF) surrounded the police team and barbarically killed Karki to death by using knives and swords. The protesters, according to eKantipur, also abducted three other policemen after attacking them with sharp weapons, sources said. The criminals also took away 2 rifles and a pistol from the policemen. In retaliation, the police had opened fire on them. The bloody protests in southeastern Nepal have already claimed the lives of ten people over the past two weeks.] How can you justify a movement that, it seems, doesn't believe in talks? Even the Maoists, who were waging a violent war, came to the talks table and engaged themselves in peace process. But these elements that are spreading violence in Madhesh under the cover of political demands are exposing themselves as days are passing. They will put forward one nonsense demand after another as the government goes on addressing them. The government must use its machinery to expose infiltrating criminal elements. It has partially done so by arresting Kamal Thapa, Badri Mandal and Salim Ansari but this must be intensified. We are running out of time.

Source: blog.com.np

Nobel Peace Prize for Girija or Prachanda?

Lately there's been one ad getting printed everyday on The Himalayan Times. It says, "Should Girija Prashad Koirala be nominated for Nobel Peace Prize?" or "Should Prachanda be nominated for Noble Peace Prize?" People are being asked to vote via their mobile.

Because of their continuous effort and desire to bring peace in Nepal, now we are in today's state. But this doesn't mean we, the people didn't do anything. We did more than them, but they gave us leadership. Democracy has been restored and people are going to write their own constitution via Constituent Assembly Polls. For the first time in Nepali history, King has been made a simple man. His powers has been cut and bestowed upon people. Peace has returned and new hopes are high to build new Nepal. Without their effort and people's support, this wouldn't have been possible.

But if we go back the date, Girija is the man who started all this fiasco. After 1990 uprising, political parties and their leaders showed greed and hunger for power and money. Girija also couldn't stop his greed. He played many political games or plans to defeat or remove his opponents from power and remain in power. He got involved in various corruption cases be it Dhamisa case or Lauda case. His followers also walked in his footprints. Coarruption escalated and people's hope of prosperity and development dashed. CPN Maoist went to jungle to establish Communist Republic Nepal. Prachanda's army created havoc and government's forces added more spice to the conflict. Human Rights violation escalated and development works ceased. People's aspirations to live life freely and peacefully were shattered. King Gyanendra tried to use situation in his benefit. He sacked the democratic government and imposed his tyranny rule. People have hoped that their king would save them from their problem but he too used powers for his and his men's benefit only. For him also, "who are people? Hell". Finally Seven Political Party Alliance (SPA) and Maoist came together and tried to find peaceful ending of this bloody war. Unanimously SPA chose Girija as their leader and he commanded the peaceful April Uprising. Uprising toppled the king and his autocratic rule and restored democracy here. After successful revolution also, Girija worked hard despite his poor health. Now there's no alternative to him.

In this past 10 years, Nepal's political scenario has changed. Now I believe may be their contribution to establish peace and democracy should be recognized. But what do you think? Should they be nominated or even awarded? Or only Prachanda or Girija should be given the Prize? Or they shouldn't be nominated at all? Share your thoughts with us.

Big Brother and the Racism

Shilpa Shetty has won the reality television show Big Brother. The show created huge hue and cry over so called racist comment made by one of the participants Jane Goody on her fellow participant Shilpa Shetty. This controversy once again united world against any form of racism. Even British PM Tony Blair, British Finance Minister Gordon Brown , key Indian Ministers/officials had to speak on this. British FM's India visit was over showed by this controversy where he had to condemn the racism repeatedly. Oxfam, the British televisions regulator received more than 35,000 complaints and the host channel "Channel 4 " alone received more than 4000 comments directly.

 

Whole media across the globe, be it Nepal television or BBC, covered the news with great news value. In this whole affair how Indian media could be left behind. They not only condemned the racism but compared this affair with pride of India. They denounce every form of racism by whites in various forms. In hush, they forgot they also are racist and follow another form of racism.

 

If you see Indian films or soaps or ads, they present Nepali people as idiot, illiterate watchman "Bahadur". I am not pointing bahadur as low class job, every job has their own wonderful status, but pointing out this how Indian media are full of mediocre mind. Either it's Yes Boss, Krishh, Sleep Well's ad or Gharwali Baharwali, they all have shown Nepali as stupid guard who is just able to be watchman. Gharwali baharwali even crossed the limit and showed that Nepali always like khaki color because they are bound to be watchman. Agreed many Nepalis are forced to go to India and work as menial labor because of low economic status or lack of opportunities.

 

Isn't portraying Nepali people like this a form of racism? Ask some Indians who are Nepali people, they will answer Bahadur or Gurkha are. May be it's not in terms of color or race, but is a form of racism in terms of work and economy/talent. How fair is it to show whole Nepali as illiterate who cannot speak well and only serve others. And irony is Nepali people also find such roles funny and so called Gurkha or Bahadur enjoys watching such movies or ads or soaps. Big question for you all Nepali accross, "Will you still love watching movies like Krissh or Bhagam Bhag or Gharwali baharwali and laugh on yourself?"

 

Salaam-E-Ishq: Too many Starcast, too long too

Six love stories, Twelve characters and 3.30 hrs of length, this is the Salaam-E-Ishq. Directed by talented Nikhil Advani (Kal Ho Na Ho) and produced by MAD pictures and Orion, this movie beautifully tells the story of six different couples in very interesting way.

Story 1:

Tehzeeb [Vidya Balan] her romantic husband Ashu [John Abraham] are happily married for two years. Things take a nasty turn when her train derails and meets with accident. She loses memory!

 

Story 2:

Raju [Govinda], a cabbie, dreams about his dream girl and one day he meets his dream girl Stephanie [Shanon Esra], who's come looking for Rohit [Kushal Punjabi], her boyfriend, in India. He doesn't understand English much, so in confusion he drives her to Taj Mahal instead of Hotel Taj. Now it becomes hard for Stephaine to find Rohit and Raju helps her. Slowly she falls in love with him.

 

Story 3:

Vinay [Anil Kapoor] leads a perfect life with perfect job. He has a happy family life with Seema [Juhi Chawla] and two kids. But things change when he bumps into Anjali [Anjana Sukhani]. Anjali comes from a world that Vinay only dreams of. Vinay's life undergoes a tumultuous change.

 

Story 4:

Kamini [Priyanka Chopra], an item girl in Bollywood, aspires for the coveted heroine's role in a Karan Johar film. She devises a plot to change her image by announcing that she's into a serious relationship with a fictitious character Rahul. Suddenly, Rahul [Salman Khan] enters the scene from nowhere and her whole world turns upside down.

 

Story 5:

Shiven [Akshaye Khanna] is engaged to get married in the next 10 days with his fiancé Gia (Ayesha Takia). But he develops cold feet and wants to break off the engagement. And he does so by hurting his fiance Gia in the bargain. Gradually, he begins to realize that he is incomplete without Gia.

 

Story 6:

Ramdayal [Sohail Khan] is a middle class Haryanvi, married to Phoolwati [Isha Koppikar]. On their wedding night, in excitement they set ablaze the whole house and their desire remains unfulfilled. No matter how and where Ramdayal tries to fulfill that burning desire, something goes wrong.

 

These are the six stories and five of them get inter-connected. Among them, story of John and Vidya Balan is superb so is of Govinda and Shanon Esra. John and Vidya together look so wonderful and their chemistry is too close to heart that we might have to think about John and Bipasha. Sohail Khan and isha Koppikar's story has no relation with the rest story though it tried to make film light. Priyanka and Salman's story is full of confusions and they both look so fake. Juhi and Anil shares another good story and they both looks very realistic. Akshya and Ayesha's story also leave some marks.

In acting wise, Akshya is superb and Govinda also suits the role. Juhi and Anil shares quality acting but Priyanka and Salman, a Big No to their overacting or under-acting??? Vidya has shown why she's left mark in her previous films, a wonderful performance. john is good and Shanon (may be her first performace in bollywwod, I dunno) has done good job too.

Music is pleasant and some tracks are quiet good. Director Nikhil Advani has handles some scenes so wonderfully but may be movie was too long, so he has slipped many times. Some background scores remind us of Kal Ho Na Ho, may be because director and music directors are same so. People find it hard to remain stick to their chairs for 3.3 hrs and movie is unnecessarily lengthy at last moments. Overall huge star cast may help Salaam-E-Eshq to gain profit but long length and confusing six stories might be drawbacks.

King Gyanendra looses his last presence, Central Bank proposes new notes

The last sign of King Gyanendra's presence in the country has been limited to the Nepali currency notes and coins at present. However, now the limited space will be also curbed by the Nepali government. The king's picture has been printed in the 'inevitable' bank notes for the last fifty years, but now pictures of national luminaries and the Himalayas will replace this tradition.
The history is full of instances when a particular regime comes to an end; the pictures of the rulers from the currencies also come to an end. After Taliban rule was eliminated from the map after US war on Afghanistan and after Saddam's fall too, the bank notes changed their pictures in their respective countries. It is but a despotic desire to see one's own picture in such 'powerful thing' as money.
I wonder if the ultimate honor for one's contribution is to be framed in the Dollars or Dinars of one's own country. The selfless sacrifice of Mahatma Gandhi in India and his teachings of truth and non-violence has been already contained in the Indian currencies alone. Do we value one's importance with one's picture in the most expensive bank notes? The bank notes having the picture of country's rulers are plenty across the world.
However, the tradition of printing one's own picture still continues but in 'closed' and tyrannical regimes at present. Now, President of United States can't imprint his own picture with the starting of his own tenure. Neither a democratically elected Prime Minister in India or Nepal would dare to force bank notes carrying his own picture.
It is a great honor to be pictured in bank notes. But now it is in the hand of public to accolade the honor.
The Central Bank of Nepal (Nepal Rastra Bank) has designed new notes which depict Lord Buddha as a symbol of peace in different postures while some with the pictures of Mt Everest and Bhrikuti (The Green Star of Tibet.) daughter of late King Anshuverma.
A new coin depicting a farmer ploughing the field has already come into mass circulation in the country.
Earlier, the coins used to have the symbol of King's crown and his name imprinted on them. This is the first time which has not even mentioned the King's name, while the printing of the symbols of royal accessories is out of question.

 

By Salik Shah,

Source: jyotinews.com

10th Hits FM Music Awards 2063: AND THE WINNERS ARE...

It was the day for music lovers/ artistes to celebrate their success, glory, achievement and passion. It was the day of 10^th Annual Hits FM Music Awards 2063. Singers, musicians, creative artistes, all were there to celebrate the mega event of the Nepali Music Industry.

The rock band Sayaas stole the show walking away with 3 quick awards in Best New Artist, Best Rock Composition and Best Performance by a Group or Duo. Sabin Rai also snatched 2 awards for Best Pop Composition and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance though he had got 4 nominations. Sugam Pokhrel also didn’t let go the chance to kiss glory. He won Record of the Year while Album of the Year went ro Shishir Yogi’s Suskera. Ratna Shamsher Thapa proved to be the best lyricist with Katinjel as Song of the Year.

Reema Gurung was declared the Best Female Vocal Performance from Kasko Maya Lagyo while Jagadish Samal got the Best Male Vocal performance Award for his single Tapoban.

Lyricist Kiran Kharel was awarded with Life Time Achievement Award for his contribution in Nepali Music Industry.

Rest Awardees are:
Best Song in the Foreign Language – Albaratross for Scared
Bets Music Video – Asim Chirtrakar for Birsun Bhanchu
Best composition – Suresh Chitrakar for Purano Hundaina Maya
Best Song Originally Recorded for a Motion Picture Soundtrack – Suresh Adhikari for Saathi of ye Pandit Baje
Best Vocal Collaboration – Various Artist for Chyangba
Folk Record of the Year – Sarara Pani Ghattai Ma
Folk Album of the Year – Timi Gayau Arkai ko Dolima
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance – Shubani Moktan for Pharkena Maya

Though the event was star-studded and entertaining guests were from different genre of music, it was a bit boring one. Many audiences left the event before it was over. Sunil Bardewa, Looza, Kutumba etc did try their best to keep audiences stick to their chairs but was not enough. Short interviews of Music Company owners, artistes and others were too many and MCs were also going on and on.

Besides few draw backs, the event was great. Hits FM Music Awards 2063 has certainly brought few reasons to smile for winners and their record companies and overall Nepali Music Industry. Past experiences have shown the increases in sales of albums and songs after such award were announced. So all the best for everyone.

Photo source: hitsfm.com.np

CAN Info-Tech 2007

This year’s much awaited CAN Info-tech commenced from Jan 9^th 2007. The country’s only IT show which is held annually at the BICC is aimed at showcasing some of the latest technological development as well as promoting Nepal’s IT sector internationally. The Computer Association of Nepal(CAN) has been organizing the event since 1995 and has seen significant growth since then, the number of people visiting this event has been increasing every year.

This year there were 120 national as well as international companies participating at the Can Info-tech in about 170 stalls. Many IT institutes, colleges and companies showcasing their latest products took part in this event. There was also an ICT conference being held with the purpose of mapping and describing the significance of Information and Communication Technology in Nepal.

But in recent years the event seems to be heading in the wrong direction. Instead of being an event to showcase new technologies to the people it is becoming a place for computer shops to sell their products and do business, and this year was no different. It was as if the computer shops of new road had moved to BICC. I was disappointed to see the same old stuff which was also there the year before. But on the positive side there were certain new innovative products and technologies which were quite interesting. The $100 laptop which is a part of the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project (for more information see our article OLPC ,is it a distant dream?) was unveiled. There were big announcements by Nepal Telecom which is one of the Gold sponsors of the event. The big announcement was the starting of the new 3G service in the valley from falgun of this nepali calendar. The new 3G service provides services like Video calling, video streaming and high speed internet access. It is being introduced for the first time in South Asia. Another was the introduction of the CDMA PAMCIA card which allows laptop users to access the internet from any place.

The Can Info tech is an important event for the development of the IT sector in Nepal,
But it needs much improvement for it to succeed. I think the organizers of the event need to be aware of this fact. What do you think the CAN should do to improve the quality of the CAN Info Tech event? Pleases Comment.

New Constitution, New Legislature and New Dawn for Nepal

Nepal created yet another history with new Interim Constitution and new Interim Legislature. Nepal's constitution of 1990 has been nullified and new constitution has been implemented which stripped all the powers from King Gyanendra and made him powerless like common man. till date, Nepal saw 6 constitution and this new constitution has been the first one written by people. House of Representative have been dissolved and Interim Legislature have taken it's place with Maoists entering parliament after 14 years. In yet another historical move, 83 members of Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) have entered inside the parliament house as the members of the interim legislature. [The existing parliament was restored in April by the historical peoples' movement.] Members of various parties in the (old and existing) parliament are already saying that today will herald a new beginning of the process of making a new Nepal, a democratic republic of Nepal. The interim constitution significantly reduces king's role in the state of affairs and empowers people of Nepal like never before. The main objective of the interim house and interim constitution will be to hold the election of constituent assembly on time (by mid June) which will decide Monarchy's future. Soon all party Interim Government will be formed which will announce dates for Constituent Assembly to be held by coming July.

The Communist party of Nepal (Maoist) had entered jungle with arms after it lost it's faith in legislature. It has hoped to make Nepal a Republic Country. They fought for bloody 11 years for their dreams and around 13000 people lost their precious life and there's no account of how much physical and other assets were lost or damaged. But after 19 day's peaceful April Movement, the Nepal's political and landscape have changed. Maoists laid their arms and came to peaceful political mainstream. Now the bloody was is over and it's new dawn has arrived for Nepal.

Tampering with meters

You are riding taxi from New Road to Thamel via Jamal. How much it would cost you? You would say it costs you around Rs. 35 to Rs. 45. Not more than that. What if you are charged Rs. 81? Then you would say, "Man the taxi's meter is tampered!" Yes we were charged Rs. 81 for mere 10 minutes distance. The taxi with number plate Ba. 1. Ja. 4402 charged Rs. 81. And when bargained he simply slashed down charge to Rs. 60. This is just a single case. Daily hundreds of people are cheated like this. Government has implemented the standard meter and rates and legal punishments for those convicted. But still Taxi drivers and owners are not hesitating to tamper with meter and cheat passengers. To prevent this we all must be aware, but sometimes the problem is we don't know the rates because most of us hardly ride taxi unless it's emergency.

So what precautions should be taken then? What measure should be applied to prevent such cases? Come let's haunt those who tamper meter and try to cheat us. If you have any cases or incidents, share with us.

Ministry's Home Page : A porn Site???

Have you ever thought of watching porn site without meaning to show it's address on address bar? If you directly hit the address of porn site, then anyone might pop at any moment and may cause embarrassment. So watching porn on other common site's name is very safe. Then guys don't worry, there's such site. go to http://www.moh.gov.np and click on guest book, you can find numbers of porn pictures, links and comments. Well wondering who owns this site? It's non other than our very own government. Yes, this is the official home page of Ministry of Health.

According to Kantipur Daily, Ministry's officials are aware of the fact that their homepage has turned into porn site. Neither Ministry updates it's site nor have moderator to check the comments. Within a year, around 1200 people have left abusive comments, pictures and links and that too is of 303 pages. This page was last updated on February 7, 2006. So it's been year sicne it's last update. So flock, go there and have fun (if you want). It's safe and sound after all if anyone asks you what are you watching, then tell them you are visiting MINISTRY'S HOMEPAGE.

Apple's revolutionary iPhone launched today

Today is a revolutionary day in the creative mobile industry because Apple has once again shown that whatever it puts it hand on will turn into 'eye popping device' (gold).Look on your right. What do you call this incredibly smooth design and the looks. iPhone will prove in coming days that it is revolutionary device. Its may not be affordable to us but we can relish the fact that we are the part of this Apple generation...

Visit Apple's website for more :iPhone

Intricate Girls

It’s a cliché many guys use “I cannot understand girls”. So why can’t we guys understand girls, let’s put light on some of the illogical thing that girls do which intensify their complexity.

Girls are very social. They are always in groups, trio or duo. The keyword there is always. In duos, if a girl is thirsty then the other girl is bound to be a part of the quenching process whether she is thirsty or not. Being together is a different thing, but sticking together is what girls are fond of. On a serious note, if a guy initiates a love relation with a girl who is part of a duo or trio he will starve to the get the privacy of two’s company and will always be the part of the crowd.

Girls are friends in minutes and enemies in seconds. Being friends and being apart is a very easy process for girls. Even long friendships end in just a minute of misunderstanding. Girls are communal, but the gossip queens always have one or the other reason to create friction between themselves.

Girls unconditionally support solidarity. In colleges if an event a gathering or picnic is being organized and a girl from a duo or trio is unable to attend the event due to some reason. Then, her over supportive friends will have ample number of fake reasons not to attend the event, why? God knows. I think this is what they call daisy chaining.

Girls do not miss a single chance to tease boys, but when boys get a little excess of the fun then girls get angry in no time. The water dispenser will be just outside the class but the girl will order the boy to get the water rather that giving some exercise to her own feet.

So, Arshad Warsi was 100% right when he told “Ladkiyon ka logic ka switch hamesha off rehta hai” in Salaam Namaste. It was on a different situation but yes there is no on state in the logic switch of girls. Who knows the girl duos who share everything will even fall in love on the same guy like Rani and Priety singing Piya Piya. I suggest the guys to listen to “Ladki Kyon” only Saif’s part from Hum Tum to get a better idea what girls are made of.

I have no offence on girls. I respect girls, but only want to stress on the point everyone should maintain individuality as we all are different. We should be able to establish out own individual identity, shouldn’t we. If two people are alike then there will be no color in life, correct me if I’m wrong.

Geshan Manandhar

Around 450 Words

I don't have anything against girls but just trying to put things logically, as a girl read this article and labeled it 'nice' . I recommend comments and if a controversy starts I'm ready to face it.

Power Woes!!!

"Today I woke up early. I had many works to be done and plans to be made. But Ahhh!!! No electricity. Damn it's load shedding."

Load shedding has become our destiny. From January 7, 2007 it has gone up to 8 hours a week per household from 2.5 hours a week previously. Even the worst is in the area from Hetauda to Birjung where load shedding would be imposed for 3 hours everyday. After a month it is expected to go up to 40 hours a week. Currently Nepal needs 640 MW of power but the irony is Nepal can produce mere 440 MW power in its peak time i.e. rainy season. Nepal's power production is based on run-of-river projects and in winter, due to decrease in water level, power production capacity declines by almost half. On January 6, 2007 power production declines to 230 MW nearly tri-fold less than demand. It is expected that soon power production would plunge to mere 185 MW.

According to NEA figure, 20 % of total population in 72 districts have access to electricity. Currently there are no any big projects going on except Mid-Marshyandi Hydro Power with capacity of 69 MW. And it has also it's own woes. It has already been delayed for 3 years than expected. It's cost has increased by three fold than evaluated and still it is not showing any signs to complete.

NEA has plans to buy power from India and are in procedure to make deal. But currently only 23 MW of energy can be bought because of its own problems.

Nepal is considered as second richest country of the world in terms of water. Nepal's power production is estimated to be 83000 MW out of which 43000 MW is possible.

The most irony is, so called watery-rich Nepalis are those unlucky people who haven't reach to electricity and safe drinking water. And if sooner no plans are formulated, load shedding would be problem of coming generations also.

Wireless Charging !

Are you tired of your mobile's batteries dying out when you are in the middle of an important phone call, or the batteries of your mp3 player going dead when you are listening to your favorite song, or your camera giving up on you just when you are about to take that all important picture just because you forgot to charge the batteries last night? Well if you are than this might be the thing for you. Scientists are perfecting a new method of powering devices without the need of wires or wirelessly.

The idea of beaming power through the air has been around for almost two centuries. It is used in some extent today to power some Radio frequency Identification (RFID) tags. The phenomenon which makes this possible is known as electromagnetic induction or also as inductive coupling and occurs when electric current passes through wires like in a RFID tag.

When current flows through a wire it creates a magnetic field just like around a magnet, this field in turn can induce current in nearby wires. This has a limited range however and is not suitable to power a roomful of devices, but scientists have developed methods by which this induced current can be boosted and can successfully power devices like a battery charger.

Automotive supplier Visteon has already announced a wireless charging device that can charge batteries on mobile phones, mp3 players or handheld computers without the need of an adapter. They claim that this wireless charger can charge a device with the same speed as a conventional charger.

The new visteon wireless charging concept that allows users to charge an ipod,cellular phone or a PDA or any other compatible devices.

This sound to be a great idea, and could change our lifestyle. But, will people use it? That remains to be seen given concerns over cell phone radiations and other power line radiations. The developers might have a problem convincing the people that it’s safe.

Bitter Realities of Domestic Violence

"My husband tried to kill me by putting me on fire because I didn't follow his order to heat the food. Luckily my neighbors came in time. Otherwise I would have become dead. "

Srijana (Name changed) shared her painful story with tears in her eyes. She couldn't resist herself from crying while sharing her stories. Tears were tickling down through her chins and I was just speechless.

This is just a single case how domestic violence takes place in our society. Though the half sky of Nepal is covered by women, they are the ones who are assaulted or discriminate and made to suffer by their male partners. Home is the place where one feels safe and comfort but in many cases torture begins at home. Instead of protection they face torture and are abused. Either in the name of dowry, education, or any other excuses, women are made forced to suffer violence at home.

Domestic violence is a widespread but unreported problem in Nepal. Data on the issue is hard to come by, as there are very few studies on the subject. Many form of violence against women and girls are not even recognized as violence, but ignored or justified by quoting religious, cultural or traditional beliefs and practices. Legal and even judicial institutions fail to provide adequate safeguards for women and girls against violence. State institutions lack both the sensitivity and capacity to deal with gender-specific violence, and enforcing the law often fails. Judicial pronouncements have frequently reflected biases that indicate the strong influence of prevalent social attitudes. Women thus become victims not only of the violence they suffer, but also of social and legal attitudes, which are often indifferent to their plight and sometimes even hold them responsible for it. Such a trivialization of violence against women is due to the failure to recognize that it infringes on their right to life, to bodily security, and freedom from torture, to which all citizens are entitled.

While Nepali society upholds the chastity and virginity of girls as a measure of the ultimate prestige and dignity of a family, the socialization process encourages girls and women to become victims as it installs the values of suffering in silence, tolerance and non-retaliation in them. This is perhaps why cases of rape are under-reported in Nepal. Awareness is also extremely low so this remains the hidden problem of Nepal.

The majority of violence is non-fatal however health effects can last forever. Physically women may experience a vast range of injuries, many affecting their reproductive health, and increasing vulnerability to sexual dysfunction, HIV/AIDS and death. Psychologically, women may experience post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and even attempt suicide. Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to gender based violence: Women who experience violence from their partners run twice the risk of miscarriage and four times the risk of having a low birth-weight baby. Although it is underreported, domestic violence may cause as mush disease, disability, and death as many other illnesses combined: gender based violence is itself a significant high-risk health factor for women of reproductive age.

Since the Maoist movement began in 1996, thousands of innocent men and women have been killed, critically injured or rendered homeless, and property worth millions has been destroyed. Looting, extortion, harassment, torture, seizure of home and land, rape and kidnapping are bitter realities in insurgency-affected areas. Women and children have no place to go for immediate relief and support. Women are the victims of mental and physical abuse, rape and other human right violations by both Maoists and government security forces.

There are no mechanism to rehabilitate, support or record the plight of these victims; and no information on the women who have joined the Maoist movement or on their condition. The worst affected areas are the remote villages of far western region. As most men in these areas have either been killed or have fled from their hometowns, the household burden of women has increased. In Nepal, where the social stigma on widowhood is high, women who lose their husbands in conflict suffer not only grief but also social exclusion, and less access to food, nourishment, and basic services for the rest of their lives.

Perpetrators of domestic violence are generally not prosecuted in the Nepali criminal justice system. The National Code does not require the state to prosecute the crime of assault. Accordingly, assault is usually left to private prosecution. The state prosecutes some assaults that disturb the public peace, as violations of a lesser, ancillary law. Because women lack the financial resources to seek private legal relief and given the non-public nature of most assaults on women, domestic violence has been relegated to a second class crime. Women rarely report incidents of domestic violence to the police. When a report is made, an arrest is very unlikely and police usually encourage the woman to reconcile with her partner. Unless domestic violence rises to the level of murder or attempted murder, state prosecutors will generally not pursue the cases.

Social, cultural, economic and religious factors reiterate male dominance and allow systematic discrimination and violence to pervade women’s lives. According to the Nepal Human Development Report 2004, women’s literacy rate is 35 per cent as compared 63 per cent for men; maternal mortality rates of Nepali women rank among the highest in the world; one out of every 185 women dies because of pregnancy and childbirth-related complications. Nepal has one of the highest indices of son preference in the world and estimates by local NGOs show organized gangs traffick some 5,000 to 12,000 Nepalese girls to work in brothels each year.

It is extremely difficult for a woman to prove that she is being abused within her home in Nepal. Women who do decide to come forth and demand justice face an uphill task. Unless community attitudes change and people recognize violence against women to be a crime, women will continue to suffer daily abuse at the hands of their partners and within their very homes.