Over the top

With the deadline for the Nepal’s Constitution fast approaching, civil society has been pressuring  the Constituent Assembly to come up the document on time. Public figures from across Nepal recently gathered to articulate a set of core values essential to a successful constitution, a discussion largely neglected in the public discourse; and to reaffirm that a just constitution is still possible before the 28 May deadline. Their appeal follows:

Appeal

The Eight Values of Nepali Democracy

29 Chaitra 2066 – 11 April 2010

The country has entered a state of deep political uncertainty. This uncertainty is undermining the achievements of the People’s Movement of 2006. Today’s need is to preserve the democratic achievements of the past in building our road to the future. In this context, all political parties must concentrate on the peace process and constitution-writing, based on combatant integration-rehabilitation as agreed in past agreements. This is the national agenda of the moment, and we request the well-informed citizenry to be alert to any diversion from this path.

A constitution is not only a political document, it defines and establishes social relationships. For this reason, the new constitution must incorporate non-violence, harmony, goodwill, equality and trust as its basis. Our socio-political system and economic growth must be based on these parameters, for which we believe there has to be unanimity on the following values. With diligent and urgent effort based on these values, we believe it is still possible to promulgate the new constitution of Nepal by 28 May 2010 (14 Jestha 2066):

1. Social Justice: We strongly believe that our country’s economic, social, cultural and political transformation must be based on social justice and equity that every citizen can enjoy.
2. Non-Violence: The coming constitution must be based on the value of non-violence, ahimsa. In the context of political transformation, those who have utilized violence must build trust by making an official declaration of having abandoned violence.
3. Plurality and pluralism: Plurality is the communitarian character of Nepali society. Pluralism is the basis and system which supports this diversity. The new constitution must be a document that accepts and gives voice to varying ideas and aspirations. The new constitution must guarantee the ideals of pluralism and thereby institutionalize the federal democratic republic.
4. Separation of powers: The very foundation of a modern political system is the separation of powers, including checks and balances between the legislature, executive and an independent judiciary.
5. Freedoms: We should not contemplate a political system that does not guarantee political, economic, social freedoms as well as those of thought and expression. Under no circumstances can these freedoms be compromised. Human rights of all citizens must be guaranteed.
6. Federalism: The very geography, population diversity and political history of the country demand federalism. The federal structure must be of the kind which guarantees the country’s unity and sovereignty, as well as social harmony, equality and the rights of citizens.
7. Secularism: The state can have no religion. A state based on one faith is not acceptable. To say secularism is to believe in the freedom of all religions.
8. Nationalism: No community, class or region alone can represent the sentiments of the entire nation. The very foundation of our nationalism is our plurality. For this reason, the first basis of our nationalism is the pluralism which emerges from the diversity of our population.

Appeal Signatories:

Amuda Shrestha

Ashok Murarka

Chandra Kant Gyawali

Chandra Kishore

Charan Prasai

Daman Nath Dhungana

Dinesh Golcha

Dinesh Tripathi

Dipendra Jha

Dr. Arjun Karki

Dr. Birendra Mishra

Dr. Gauri Shanker Lal Das

Dr. Netra Timsina

Dr. Surendra Labh

Fatik Thapa

Ganesh BK

Gyani Devi Thapa Magar

Haribansa Acharya

Kanak Mani Dixit

Kedar Bhakta Mathema

Kul Chandra Gautam

Lalraj Subedi

Lhakpa Norbu Sherpa

Madan Krishna Shrestha

Mohan Singh Thebe

Padma Ratna Tuladhar

Prof. Dhruba Kumar

Prof. Kamal Krishna Joshi

Prof. Kapil Shrestha

Prof. Yogendra Yadava

Rajesh KC

Rameshwor Upadhaya

Ravi Thakur

Rukaiya Khatun

Sabitra Rai

Sambhu Thapa

Satish Chandra Agrawal

Shobhakar Budathoki

Subodh Raj Pyakurel

Sushil Pyakurel

Tek Nath Baral

Tikaram Bhattarai

A Kathmandu-ite might barely register the seemingly random presence of police in riot gear appearing at the mere rumour of some political rally or strike. So the extra presence in various places around the valley today – near the UN’s central headquarters, near the two Chinese diplomatic enclaves, at major cross-streets – might easily pass without notice. But 10 March marks the 51st anniversary of the Tibetan uprising (now commonly referred to as Uprising Day for its annual marking) against the Chinese military presence, which led to the exile of the Dalai Lama – and the refugee population that now maintains a community in Nepal and elsewhere. The UN House and other Kathmandu markers have frequently been sites of peaceful protest that, on occasion, has lead to inordinate and violent police retaliation, most recently in the lead-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

That year, of course, also marked the massive demonstrations that swept through Tibet itself and elsewhere around the world – including in Kathmandu, where protesters demonstrated daily for months in the aftermath of the Spring 2008 anti-government show of force. Eventually, those daily demonstrations became a significant bugbear in relations between the Nepali and Chinese governments, infuriating Beijing and embarrassing Kathmandu. Nepal’s various governments have since consistently reiterated their commitment to China’s policy towards Tibet, backing their statements with firm action on protesters. But a letter dated 8 March from the Tibetan Refugee Welfare Committee of Kathmandu, currently making its rounds in the community, makes the ominous allegation that the Nepali police have been going so far as to threaten some extremely dire consequences to the kinds of protests Kathmandu has seen in the past. In a stark warning to the community, the letter states that, in the areas deemed off limits to demonstrators, “the police may even resort to shoot[ing].” As news of arrests of Tibetan activists continue to trickle in, the accompanying photographs taken today around the valley indicate that the Nepali government will continue to channel the paranoia of Beijing.

“Nepal has experienced dramatic change in the past few decades, the pace of which exceeds that of any other time in its history. Indeed, the changes that have occurred between the 1950s and the present may exceed those of the preceding five centuries,” Scott Faiia writes in the Photo feature of our February issue where he compared his photographs of Kathmandu today from the pictures he had taken over the years. (If you haven’t had a chance to check them out, you can see the set here. There’s also an album at our Facebook fanpage.) It’s a point  that’s forcefully illustrated by recent events. Scott has emailed us with an update of a pair of pictures we ran. In the piece he wrote,  in reference to a building in Boudhanath, that despite the structural fidelity, “[t]he addiction of signboards and new shops has markedly changed the building’s character.”  Now, however, that facade may be visited with more drastic changes:

I was out at Boudha over Losar and walked by the building that was included in the photo essay of the February issue of Himal South Asia. The photos in the article were twenty one years apart but the physical structure of the building had not changed. I was quite shocked to see that the building was no longer there. Unfortunately it has been destroyed and a new modern concrete structure is under construction. We will have to wait to see what the exterior of the new building will look like. Hopefully it will blend harmoniously with the environment there.

I will be checking with the local community to see if they are aware how the new building was designed. I will also check with UNESCO to see if there are any regulations for construction at this World Heritage site.

Scott would appreciate any updates of this building or any other buildings in the area. If you have any pictures comparing the past and present environs of the Boudhanath, post them on our Facebook fanpage (http://www.facebook.com/himal.southasian) or send us a mail to our web editor at alstond@himalmag.com. Scott will also keep us updated as he investigates further.

The New Year invariably brings a spate of lists of all stripes and spots. The end of the decade only intensifies this impulse. But here’s a worthy compilation: Swarna Rajagopalan at the Asia Security Foundation put together her list of nominees for ‘SouthAsian of the Decade’ on her blog. To our surprise, Himal Southasian made her list!

“Himal represents the potential of the South Asian intelligentsia to create and sustain a critical dialogue on issues that transcend interstates borders.”

The word potential worryingly implies that this is an ‘Obama’ nomination—more for what good we could do as opposed to what we have achieved, but we are flattered nonetheless.

We also salute Ms Rajagopalan’s use of the term “SouthAsian” as a single word: let that be proof positive to naysayers that the effort can have traction among conscientious writers and bloggers committed to stress our cross-national commonality.

Check out her other nominees on her blog: http://asiasecurity.macfound.org/blog/entry/111southasian_of_the_decade/

We would also be curious to hear who our readers would nominate for Southasian for the Decade.

On Tuesday 22 December, a suicide bomber nonchalantly walked into the compound of the Peshawar Press Club and, when his passage is obstructed by constable Riaz Uddin, detonates himself. The blast killed three people and injured dozens others, among them staff of the press club, journalists and the police constable himself who paid with his life for his service. The news hit us just as we were going to press, but it was an event that is impossible and unforgivable to ignore. It highlights the danger that reporters place themselves in the pursuit of their work, especially in Peshawar. Below we excerpt our commentary on the event from our upcoming January issue.

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Journalism under threat

The rest of the media fraternity in Southasia does not fully realise how dangerous some parts of the region are for those who seek to uphold independent journalism. Sri Lanka, the Indian Northeast, Kashmir and Nepal beyond the Kathmandu Valley are areas where the threat to life and limb are very real. Himal was reminded of this when a member of our editorial board, Manisha Aryal, narrowly escaped the 9 June blast in the Pearl Continental in Peshawar, because she was in the other wing of the hotel. On 22 December, in the first-ever direct attack on journalists in Pakistan, a suicide bomber detonated a bomb that ripped into the Peshawar Press Club, where our Contributing Editor Iqbal Khattak is a regular. Khurram Pervez of The News, and staff of the Press Club were injured. Himal contributor Manzoor Ali Shah also happened to be in the building. We salute police constable Riaz Uddin who sacrificed his life trying to save the journalists inside, and wish all journalists in Peshawar a quick recovery from the trauma in a part of Southasia that is becoming more dangerous to journalists by the day.

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Himal contributing editor from Peshawar, Iqbal Khattak, has obtained CCTV footage of the event.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dXhGkhdePc