Hawking and a brief history of boycotts

By Ramzy Baroud

There is little doubt that the boycott movement is in constant growth and not simply because of the recurring news of artists and academics refusing to visit Israel, or take part in Israeli-sponsored events. Equally significant is the existence of strong layers of support being provided by civil society that makes it possible for artists, academics and others to adhere to the call of boycott, without fearing serious repercussions.

It is an event "of cosmic proportions", said one Palestinian academic, a befitting description regarding Stephen Hawking's decision to boycott an Israeli academic conference slated for next June. It was also a decisive moral call which was communicated on May 8 by Cambridge University, where Hawking is a professor.

Hawking is a world-renowned cosmologist and physicist. His scientific work had the kind of impact that redefined or challenged entire areas of research from the theory of relativity, to quantum mechanics and other fields of study. This towering figure is also wheelchair-bound - suffering from complete physical paralysis caused by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) disease. For Hawking, however, such a painful fact seems like a mere side note in the face of his incredible contributions to science, ones that are comparable to only few men and women throughout history.

What is considered a prestigious scientific conference in Israel is hosted by President Shimon Peres, most remembered by Lebanese and Palestinians for ordering the shelling of a United Nations compound near the village of Qana in South Lebanon in 1996.

Stephen Hawking being presented by his daughter Lucy Hawking at the lecture he gave for NASA's 50th anniversary Source: Wikimedia Commons

The compound was a safe heaven, where civilians often sought shelter during Israeli strikes. Not that time around, however. 106 innocent people that were mostly children and women were killed and 116 wounded, including UN forces. That harrowing event alone would have sent Peres, then Israel's prime minister, to serve his remaining years in jail.

But of course, Israel is above the law, or so the Israeli government believes and thus it has consistently behaved accordingly in the last 65 years with a price tag of uncountable lives, untold destruction and protracted suffering of entire nations.

Hawking's response to the boycott call was immensely important. The man's legendary status aside, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has proved more durable and successful than its detractors - mostly Israel's apologists - want to believe.

Hawking's decision was also a testament that reason and morality should and must go hand in hand. Israel's boasting of its scientific accomplishments should mean zilch if such technology is put to work to advance state violence, tighten military occupation and make killer drones available to other countries, thus exporting violence and mayhem.

"Refuse to finance the occupation – Boycott Israel" – a Swedish poster calls for a boycott of Israel Photo by Jacob Rask, via Wikimedia Commons

The same "science" was used in abundance in Israel's latest two wars on Gaza (2008-09 and 2012) which claimed thousands of lives between the dead and wounded.

Nepal: Letting the cat to guard the milk

(Published by Asia Times Online on May 16, 2013 as 'Nepal charges towards total impunity')

Already traumatized by thriving corruption and lawlessness in a protracted transition, Nepalis were shocked by the choice of a tainted and controversial person by politicians to lead the anti-graft body in the country potentially making way for total impunity. More appalling was the acquiescence of 'less corrupt' leaders, the judiciary and the president in the scheme. The proverb 'letting the cat to guard milk' aptly describes the situation. Either way, accountability is the prime victim. 

When the first ever Constituent Assembly (CA) in Nepal collapsed on May 27, 2012 without delivering the constitution, it was tempting to predict grim scenario ahead. But no one was sure about the magnitude of the potential troubles. A year away from the end of CA, Nepal is nowhere close to holding new elections. The unduly lengthened transition period has invited a host of complications some of which may well cripple the country for decades to come.

CIAA Building (Source: Official site of CIAA)

To start with, the government led by the UCPN (Maoist) leader Baburam Bhattarai that was at the helm during the collapse of the CA was reluctant to shed power as demanded by the opposition. This led to a sharp polarization between the ruling alliance that also constituted the regional parties from the southern plains of the country and the opposition alliance formed by Nepali Congress, CPN (UML) and other fringe parties. 

The stalemate was ended only few months back when the major political powers in the country agreed to a compromise solution in which the sitting head of the judiciary of the country would also head the new election government. Even though many doubted the credentials of the new government to hold elections on time, others thought it to be the least evil of the options.

All along, however, the major preoccupation for Nepali people has been otherwise: failure of the state to deliver in terms of economic betterment of the ordinary people. This has been compounded by the rampant corruption and lawlessness that serves elites and vandals at the cost of majority of people.

As such, institutionalized corruption and brazen loot of state wealth through more subtle means has been the major trend for long in Nepal. Over time, while a tiny fraction of politicians and bureaucrats has been punished for corruption, the large majority has been able to exploit the loopholes in the legal system to remain unscathed. Even more worrying trends have emerged in recent years in which the politicians have been using new and effective tools to amass wealth and power with absolutely no possibility of ever having to be held accountable for it. This includes the creation of proxies by recruiting the musclemen who work with near-total impunity under political patronage and reciprocate by giving a substantial amount of wealth to the politicians, in a win-win arrangement.

Lok Man Singh Karki (Source: Official site of CIAA)

These musclemen affiliated to different political parties and leaders now govern huge chunks of informal economy in the country and they operate through some methods that have become so frequent that they are taken as 'usual' or 'ordinary', like asking huge sums of money as donations from the industrialists or being employed by one contractor to physically prevent others from bidding for a government contract thereby eliminating the factor of competition. Host of other private cartels (those in transport and medical education sector being the most notorious among all) also thrive under due political patronage. 

As a result, while the state wealth meant to deliver services to people ends up in the pockets of politicians and musclemen, ordinary people are deprived of both the economic betterment and dignity. 

भविष्य चिन्तन– परधर्मो भयावहः

 एल बी छेत्री ,कविडांडा, भरतपुर

मुर्ख थिएँ, मौकाको फाइदा उठाउन सकिन । म दंग परेको थिएँ प्रजातान्त्रिक आवरणको नग्न स्वरुप देख्दा । डराएको थिएँ, घाइते हुन चाहदैनथें । तसर्थ तर्किएर बसें । तर्किएर बस्ने रुझ्दैनन । तर कतै रुझ्दछु कि भनेर तर्किएर बस्ने गन्तब्यमा पुदैनन् । पुगिनँ पनि ।  म काँग्रेस समर्थक थिएँ  तर काँग्रेस भित्रै प्रजातान्त्रिक आचरण को विरुद्धका क्रियाकलाप विरुद्ध असन्तुष्टि व्यक्त गरि नै रहें ।

The author

वि. स. २०६५ ताकाको कुराहो । एक पटक धनराज गिरीले मेरो सामु  बडो अफ्ठ्यारो प्रश्न तेर्साएका थिए– दादा देशको भविष्य कस्तो देख्नु हुन्छ ? तत्काल  मलाई केही सुझेन र उत्तर दिइन तर यो प्रश्नको  उत्तर खोज्न  मेरो मन र मस्तिष्क दुवै धेरै समय सम्म प्रयत्नशील रहेको म साक्षी छु । जाबो  एउटा सानो प्रश्नको उत्तर पनि दिन नभ्याउने असमर्थतामा खिन्न पनि थिएँ तर आफनो निरन्तरतामा बाधा पुग्न नदिने समयले सबै विर्साइ दिएको थियो।

धेरै दिनदेखि मुख सुकि रहेको थियो । राती पिसाब फेर्ने सङ्ख्यामा पनि वृद्धि भएको थियो । कतै मधुमेह? डर पस्नु स्वभाविक थियो ।  सुगर हो वा होइन को सङ्का राखिंरहन भन्दा डा. विजयको प्याथोलोजी गई रगत परीक्षण गराई सङ्कामुक्त हुनु नै उचित ठाने । देब्रे हातबाट एक बट्टा रगत तानेको आधा घन्टा पछि रिपोट प्राप्त हुँदा विगत केही दिनको ताप, दसदिनदेखि  खल्लो चिया र नुनिलो विस्कुटमा आफूलाई सीमित राख्दाराख्दा वाक्क परेको खिन्नता र  परीक्षणका लागि रगत तान्दा सियोले च्वास्स दुखाएको पीडा सबै हराएको थियो । रगतमा चिनिको मात्रा  शरीरलाई चाहिने आवश्यक मापदण्ड भित्रै रहेछ । खुशी लाग्यो । रिपोट लिएर फर्के र फर्कदा हाकिमचोकमा गाडी रोकेर रिपोट एकपटक फेरी हेरेँ, ८५ नै रहेछ । ढुक्कसँग मिठाइ पसलमा पुगेर अलिक चर्को अलिक   अधिकार मिश्रित  स्वरमा भनेः ताजा ताजा चार वटा जेरी पोको पार्नुस त । मैले मिठाइ पसलको भाइ लाई चारवटा जेरी पोको पार्न भन्दा त्यो होटल आफ्नै भान्साघर सम्झी खाइरहेका केही ग्राहकले मतिर पुर्लुक्क हेरेका थिए । मौन प्रश्न थियो– चार वटा ? अनि सुगरको भय छैन? मैले पनि स्वाभिमानी मुस्कान सहित आँखा जुधाएरै मौन उत्तर दिएको थिएः ढुक्क हुनुस् । यस्ता झिना मसिना खुद्रा रोग मेरो नजिक आउँदैनन् ।

घर पुगेर पत्रिकाको एउटा पानामा पोको पारेर प्लाष्टिक ब्यागमा राखिएको जेरी चारथान   म्याडमलाइ बुझाएँे । उहाँले जेरी प्लेटमा खनाउँदै यो कागत डस्टबिनमा फाल्दिनुस त भनेर दिनु भयो । आदेश मान्दै त्यो कागत हातमा लिएर बानीअनुरुप यसो हेरेको शारदा शर्माको बाटुलो अनुहारमा अङ्कित कोर्के आँखाले मलाई हेरिरहेजस्तो लाग्यो । कान्तिपुरको पाना रहेछ ।  ठूला–ठूला शब्दहरुको शिर्षकले चुनौतिपूर्ण सन्देश पोखेजस्तो लाग्यो– ‘काँग्रेसको बन्द–परधर्मो भयावहः’ ।

Tourists watch the act of arson during a Nepal Bandh
Photo: texasnepal.com, published under fair use policy.

माथि छापिएको थियो ‘कान्तिपुर । बिहीबार ७ पुस, २०६८’ । एक वर्षमा मात्र केही दिन नपुग । कति ठाउँबाट हन्डर खाँदै शारदा शर्माको दिनचर्या बाट प्रारम्भ  मानसिक बेदना पोखिएको कान्तिपुरको यो पानाले जेरी बोक्ने निहुँमा म कहा आइ पुग्ने नियति बोकेको रहेछ । श्रीमतीले चार मध्ये मात्र एउटा जेरी प्लेटमा राखी टेबलमा राख्दै भनेको सुने ‘रगतमा सुगर कम देखिए पनि गुलियो धेरै खान हुँदैन । हाम्ले पनि जानेका छौं ।’ विगत चालिस वर्ष देखी खेपी रहेछु यस्ता आदेश । म केही बोलिन ।

हातमा अल्झिएको पाना र टेबलमा सजिएर मख्ख परेको जेरी बीचको रहस्यमय सम्बाद मैले बुझ्न सकिन तर एकातर्फ शारदा शर्माको कोर्के आँखाको तस्वीरयुक्त लेखको आग्रह अर्काेतर्फ मज्जाले तारेर रातोरातो हुन लागेको ठूलो साइजको जेरीको आकर्षण । पहिला के गर्ने अनिर्णयको घडिमा मेरा मस्तिष्कतन्तुहरु केही क्षणका लागि आत्तिएका थिए । मैले नै समाधन निकालें–एक दुई लाइन पढ्छु अनि खान्छु । पढ्न थाले – ‘बाबा यति विहानै कतातिर ? मर्निङवाकबाट सँगै फर्केपछि फेरी हिंड्न तम्तयार भएको देखेर मैले सोधे’ मेरो ध्यान पहिला ‘बाबा’मा केन्द्रित भयो । मलाई पनि मेरो म्याडमले बाबा नै भनेर सम्बोधन गर्छिन । मिल्दो रहेछ । अनि दुवै मर्निङवाकबाट फर्केका, वाह ! यो पनि मिल्यो । हामी पनि कहिल्यै छुट्टिंदैनौं । मर्निङवाक सँगै गर्छौं । अनि म केही छिन विचार गर्न थालें संयोगवश मिले होला । केही समयदेखि प्रतिक्षारत जेरीतर्फ कोर्के आखाले हेरे–मनमनै भने–पख, एकै छिन । एक दुई अनुच्छेद पढ्छु अनि ।
“नेपाली काँग्रेसको सडक बन्द गर्ने कार्यक्रम रहेछ, चकित भएर हेरिरहे मैले उसलाइ, हिजो पनि उनिहरुको मसाल बाल्ने कार्यक्रम थियो राति ।”

म सडक बन्दको घोर विरोधी  । सडक कसैको व्यक्तिगत सम्पत्ति होइन । जसले जनता लाइ सडकमा हिड्नसमेत प्रतिबन्ध लगाउँछ उसले जनताको हित गर्ला भनेर कहिल्यै पत्याउँदिन । अगाडि पढेंः
 “काँग्रेसले पनि बन्द र तोडफोड गर्ने हो भने यो मुलुकमा संविधान किन बनाउनु पर्यो? किन थप्नु पर्यो संविधान सभाको म्याद? किन चाहियो कानुन र विधि? सडक बाटै सबैथोक गरिहाले भइहाल्यो नि अब?”

 यहाँ म अलिक अडकिएँ । “काँग्रेसले पनि ...? अर्थात् काँग्रेस बाहेक अन्य पार्टीले बन्दको आवह्वान गरेकोमा लेखिकालाई उति सारै आपत्ति रहेनछ । वा शारदाजीको दृष्टिकोणमा  अन्य पार्टीलाई बन्द गर्ने चारित्रिक छुट  रहेछ । शायद उहाँ नेपाली काँग्रेसलाई अन्य राजनैतिक दलहरुलाई भन्दा अलिक धेरै माया गर्नु हुँदो रहेछ र काँग्रेसको चारित्रिक अवगुणबारे सचेत हुनुहुँदो रहेछ । विभिन्न किसिमका वैचारिक उडानमा म आकासिदै गए । म २०४२ ताका पटना विश्व विद्यालयमा स्नतकोत्तरको विद्यार्थी रहँदा  दीलबहादुर बोगटी सरले डा. सुर्यमणि अधिकारी, चिरन्जीवी श्रेष्ठ, महेश्वर श्रेष्ठ वा अन्य प्रजातान्त्रिक विचार धाराका प्राध्यापक तथा समाजसेवीहरुसँग मेरो परिचय गराउनु भएको थियो । नढाँटी भन्दा त्यसबेला सम्म म नेपालको राजनैतिक परिपाटीसँग अपरिचित जस्तै थिएँ ।

 एक पटक  उहाँले मलाई जमलमा नेपाली काँग्रेसको कार्यालय हुँदा कृष्णप्रसाद भट्टराईसँग पनि भेट गराउन भएको थियो । प्रजातन्त्र एउटा सभ्य आचरणमा आधारित व्यवस्था हो र नेपालमा प्रजातन्त्रको सिद्धान्त नेपाली काँग्रेससँग नजिकिएको हुनाले मलाई पनि नेपाली काँग्रेस समर्थकको रुपमा गणना गरियो र ०४६ सालको आन्दोलन ताका त्यही समूहबाट नारा गर्दै हिडियो । तर म काँचो थिएँ, छिट्टै पोल्यो । हौडे थिएँ  पन्छिएँ । मुर्ख थिएँ, मौकाको फाइदा उठाउन सकिन । म दंग परेको थिएँ प्रजातान्त्रिक आवरणको नग्न स्वरुप देख्दा । डराएको थिएँ, घाइते हुन चाहदैनथें । तसर्थ तर्किएर बसें । तर्किएर बस्ने रुझ्दैनन । तर कतै रुझ्दछु कि भनेर तर्किएर बस्ने गन्तब्यमा पुदैनन् । पुगिनँ पनि ।  म काँग्रेस समर्थक थिएँ  तर काँग्रेस भित्रै प्रजातान्त्रिक आचरण को विरुद्धका क्रियाकलाप विरुद्ध असन्तुष्टि व्यक्त गरि नै रहें । ०५३ ताका म वीरेन्द्र बहुमुखी क्याम्पसको प्राध्यापक संघको सभापति हुँदा  टेकप्रसाद गुरुङले नेपाली काँग्रेस जिल्ला कमिटीमा वरिष्ठ सल्लाहकारमा पहिले नियुक्त गरे पछि म्याद थपेनन्

Article by Sharada Sharma in ekantipur. Read it here

। तर गलतको विरुद्ध बोल्न छोडिनँ । नतिजा पनि प्रस्टिंदैगयो । साथीहरु टाढिंदै गए । म एक्लिंदै  गएँ ।

बोगटी पनि असमर्थ थिए मेरो पक्षलाई सहर्ष स्वीकार गर्न र भन्थे मलाई 'सर राजनीति गर्दा धेरै कुरोमा आँखा चिम्लिनु पर्छ ।' म भन्थेंः ‘मलाई राजनीति गर्नु छैन सर’ । बोगटी भन्थे  ‘हामी यसरी पन्छिंदै गयौ भने देशमा असक्षमहरुको साम्राज्य स्थापित हुनेछ ।’ मेरो  उत्तर हुन्थ्यो ।  ‘भइ सकेको छ बोगटी सर । त्यस धरातलमा  अब हाम्रो प्रवेश वर्जित छ ।’ पार्टीले तपाई लाई राजदूत बनाउन पनि सक्छ, बोगटी सर ले तर्क राख्नु भएको थियो । मैले निरीहता ब्यक्त गरेको थिएँ ‘अनि अनुहार कस्को उधारो लिने ?’बोगटी सरको म प्रतिको विश्वास र मेरो सपनाको त के कुरा राजनीतिलाई पुख्र्यौली सम्पत्ति भन्नेहरु पनि कति ठाउँमा धाराशायी हुँदै गएको पढें पनि देखें पनि । गोविन्दराज र चिरन्जिवी वाग्ले, जय प्रकाशहरु पहिला मौलाउँदै गए, पछि थन्किदै गए । २०५६ सालको चुनावमा गंगाधर लम्साल झल्याझुलक चर्चामा रहे अनि बिलाए । सावित्री बोगटी, भेटवाललाई हराएर कीर्तिमान स्थापित गरिन्, अनि विश्राम ।

प्रोजेक्ट लोकमानः लोकतन्त्रमाथि सामुहिक बलात्कार

पछिल्लो विकासक्रम हेर्दा एमाललेले आफ्नो साविकको धर्म थाम्दै यो प्रकरणमा पनि धरमर र ढूलमूलको सहारा लिएको छ र पार्टीभित्रचाहिं देशभरको समग्र गुन्डागर्दी र कालो अर्थतन्त्रको नेतृत्व तहमा रहेका के पी ओली नामका मनुवाले लोकमान पूजाको शंख फुकिरहेका छन् । काँग्रेसमा चाहिं दलभित्र व्यापक असन्तुष्टि भए पनि र सभापति कोइरालाले लोकमानको नियुक्ति रोक्ने सार्वजनिक वाचा गर्दै गरे पनि निर्णायक बिन्दुमा पुगेर खुट्टा कमाउने सम्भावना बढी छ । विगत केही वर्षमा आफ्नो दशकभरको राजनीतिक पुँजी बेचेर खाइसकेको माओवादी भनिने दलका अध्यक्ष प्रचण्ड त पूरा प्रोजेक्ट लोकमानकै प्रणेता बनेर आएका छन् र माओवाद र खाओवादको बीचमा विलखबन्दमा परेको माओवादीलाई पार लगाउने एक मात्र माध्यम लोकमान हुन सक्ने प्रचण्डको विश्लेषण भएको मानिन्छ । गच्छेदार केन्द्रमा रहेको मधेशी मोर्चाका लागि त त्यस्तो पदमा लोकमान भन्दा योग्य पात्र अरु कोही हुने सम्भावना नै भएन । 

भन्ने गरिन्छ, एउटाले जे गर्दा अपराध मानिन्छ, त्यही कर्म सबैले गर्न थाल्यो भने त्यसलाई एउटा चलन मानिन्छ ।

अहिले नेपाली राजनीतिको केन्द्रमा रहेका दलहरुले एउटा त्यस्तै अपराधकर्मलाई चलन वा एउटा अभ्यासको रुपमा स्थापित गर्न कोशिस गर्दैछन् । पछिल्लो समयका लक्षण हेर्दा लोकमान नामका मानिसलाई अख्तियार दुरुपयोग अनुसन्धान आयोगको प्रमुखमा नियुक्ति गर्ने दिशामा ठूला दलहरु संगठित रुपमा लागेका देखिन्छ जसले गर्दा उनको नियुक्ति रोकिने सम्भावना झिनो छ ।

व्यक्तिगत रुपमा लोकमान वा अर्को कुनै व्यक्तिविशेषप्रति द्वेष राख्नुपर्ने वा उसको उछितो काढ्नु पर्ने कुनै कारण छैन । तर यो प्रकरणले अझै पनि नेपालीहरुको प्रतिनिधित्व गर्छौं भन्ने भ्रम पालेर बसेका दलका नेताहरुको चरित्र नंग्याएको छ र लोकमानको ऐनामा दलहरु पूर्णतः नांगिएर प्रस्तुत भएका छन् ।

अख्तियारमा लोकमानको आसन्न नियुक्तिको अझ डरलाग्दो पाटो पनि छः त्यो हो दलहरुको आर्थिक अपराधकर्मलाई विस्तार गर्ने र सदाका लागि त्यसको खोजविनको सम्भावना अन्त गर्ने प्रयासमा न्यायालयको अप्रमाणित तर अति प्रवल सम्भावना रहेको मिलेमतो । पत्रकारलाई निषेध गरेर लोकमानको पक्षमा निर्णय दिले लाल नामका एउटा न्यायधीशलाई लोकमान वा तिनका धुपौरेले यति करोड वा अरब दिए भन्ने प्रमाण कसैसँग छैन किनकि लेनदेन गरेकै भए पनि तिनले त्यसको कुनै प्रमाण छाड्ने सम्भावना नै छैन । यदि प्रोजेक्ट लोकमानमा न्यायालयको सक्रिय भुमिका छ भने त्यसबाट महामहिम खिलराजको दुरी कति छ भन्ने पनि स्पष्ट छैन ।

अलिकति पनि विवेक भएका मानिसले अहिले लगाउने अड्कलचाहिं यो होः प्रोजेक्ट लोकमान यसै आएको छैन । यसका पछाडि देशका सबै जसो ठूला शक्तिहरु छन् । र यसले देशलाई कहाँ पुर्याउने हो भन्ने पनि स्पष्ट छ ।

Clinical pathology: a vanishing discipline in Nepal?

It appears Nepali pathology labs are in a race to bottom and most pathologists think that their future is doomed. Is it true? And if yes, why?

"Pathology is like a stem of a tree whose roots are formed by the basic disciplines of anatomy, physiology, etc. The other disciplines are like the branches of the tree." says Dr. H P Dhakal, one of the senior pathologists of Nepal and former director of of BPKMCH, Chitwan.

"In coming ten years, there will be zero scope for pathology. It is before we can find some more dependable option that we are forced to cling to it. There is no point on placing too much hope on this lost subject." says a pathologist serving in the same hospital now.

So what is pathology? Is it a glorious and crucial subject in medical science or just a dumping ground for few people who do not end up with other clinical subjects?

The irony is that Dr. Dhakal who stresses the importance of pathology as a discipline so aptly, a highly acclaimed pathologist having already published at least six articles in international journals in the field, is now abroad; having been snubbed by the institution which he helped to establish. "What I did was best for me and the timing I left was also exact", recollects Dr. Dhakal in a short trip to Nepal.

The depressing expression of another pathologist are followed by the explanation as to why the Nepali pathologists would vanish in a decade's time. While the world at large and the neighbors like India are making big strides in the field of pathology thereby unfolding the mystery of the diseases one after another, this pathologist foresees Nepal as the most profitable collection center for foreign pathology labs.

While the expression may have exaggerated the reality, the troubles of the discipline in Nepal are ominous.

Blogging today: Opportunities and challenges

While bloggers around the world and in Nepal have done a splendid job so far, the journey ahead is far from clear. There is no denying that bloggers have successfully created a niche in the media world dominated by the traditional/mainstream media outlets. But if a new, decentralized and vibrantly engaging model of media and communication is to be developed through the leadership of the bloggers, then the journey ahead is very long and arduous.

Blogging is a relatively new phenomenon when compared to other modes of communication. But the progress made by blogging enthusiasts over past many years is commendable. While they may be nowhere close to challenging or threatening the mainstream/print journalism, they have definitely created a niche among the information-seekers in the society today.

Alexa traffic ranking, while not perfect, could be reasonable tool to assess the importance of blogging sites and activities in today's world. While major blog service providers blogspot and wordpress rank 11th and 22nd respectively worldwide, former being ahead of popular sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and Bing; blogspot is even more popular in Nepal with 7th rank above Amazon, Wikipedia and Twitter.

What attracts people to blogging? First thing is that it empowers people: they can write, shoot, record and upload the contents themselves thereby projecting their capability. In the meanwhile the burden of seeking a suitable publisher and satisfying him/her with the content is relieved.

But, you may ask, these activities are perfectly possible with social media sites, so why do people need the blogs then? Seek the explanation here: just too many of us have fleeting attention and the variety present in the social media sites naturally entices us. But the limitation of the social media sites is that the amount of content is simply too big there for any idea to find degree of attention appropriate to its gravity. The walls/timelines just get deluged and a targeted and rigorous search may be required to find the appropriate content and few of us are inclined to do that. A blog post, on the other hand, comes less frequently and usually is more selective and meticulous and often more lengthy than the statuses/tweets in the social media sites.

Photo-essay on Mumbai Trip-II: Lighter moments

Here are some more photos from the trip that we undertook last year.

This is where, our guide said, Lataji stays in a flat but there was no means to verify that. If someone is sure, please come forward and confirm or deny this.

One of the modern day pilgrimages: the fortressed residence of Shah Rukh Khan

A moment of tortured patience. We wait in Siligudhi station; exhausted and exasperated. Everyone fatigued and  just happy to be sitting. 

One of the rural railway platforms in lull hours

Sujan Dai and his tanhaii. He is now married and no longer so but then he was pretty lonely and sad (wish he  never sees this description, he will grill me if not kill.)

A serene evening with a philosophy professor in Chitwan

Chitwan is famous for many things but notorious for quite a few things. One is its usually hostile weather, particularly in the spring and summer months. Yesterday was an exception: the weather was close to optimally comfortable. The heavy downpour in the morning was followed by the cloudy day and the evening was as pleasant as it could be during any part of the year. To engage in literary activity in such weather is a real privilege.

After an open invitation by LB Chhetri sir, nearly two dozen people gathered at his residence at around 5 pm for an interaction with Prof. Leonard Harris, professor of Philosophy at Purdue University in US. Named ‘White Corner’ at the southern part of Bharatpur, LB sir’s residence appears to have been serving as one of the important literary centers in Chitwan.

Prof Harris (Photo: Directory
of Purdue University. Published
under fair use policy.)

Starting with the introduction, Prof Harris imperceptibly started his talk. The relationship between literature and philosophy featured in the beginning because many of the participants were related to literature. To clarify the doubts of some of the participants, Harris had to explicitly tell that he was not representative of the US but that of himself.

Eventually, the talk focused on the issue of philosophy of oppression/segregation or discrimination and Harris gave some impressive details of how white supremacy does thrive at every level even to date. When the Europeans reached the African hinterlands, they placed themselves at the center of the universe and defined everything else with their own standards. The white color of skin, for example, became the absolute criteria to define ‘us’ and the ‘others’. While Christianity belonging to ‘us’ got the category of religion, the erstwhile religions of the African people became mere ‘mythologies’ devoid of knowledge. The ‘others’ were also presumed to be resistant to learning and hence there was no possibility of these people making any progress without following the footsteps of ‘us’.

Editorial to New Year Issue: A young mind's tryst with communism

I was not a communist by birth (unlike many of our childhood friends who had both the parents active in communist parties) but it was not long before the ideology caught my attention.

Acknowledgement to New Year Issue: A collective work

2069 was a year of experiments for this blog.

Dilemma of Nepali free market fundamentalists: a case study of Sajha Yatayat and Sudeep Shrestha

Fundamentalism of every variety tends to disable the faculty of judgment of its followers. To compensate for the loss, fundamentalists tend to skew the facts and realities to construct a belief system that then serves as the pillar of their arguments. A prototypical example of this is the religious fundamentalism in which the followers construct a skewed argument to justify their brazenly criminal deeds in the name of the god.

There are, however, more subtle forms of fundamentalism that affect our lives yet elude our attention. Looking back, as late as in 1983, the literature emanating from the then USSR kept predicting the doom of the capitalist system and the eventual triumph of communism. That was a belief system created some time in the past and totally detached from the reality of that day, yet the followers were very loyal when it came to the belief on the system.

In this article, I will deal with the fundamentalist belief system in the opposite end of the political spectrum, namely the rightist extreme, and the predicaments of the people at the spectrum. Because of its very nature and the coziness of its followers with the mainstream media, the phrase ‘free market fundamentalism’ is yet to be familiarized with the bulk of readership. That per se has nothing to do with my arguments, nonetheless.

Free market fundamentalist (FMF) belief system

For never having been formally educated in economics, my use of terminology may seem awkward but I will do my best to connote exactly what I intend to. In this section, I will briefly introduce the people who are free market fundamentalists(FMFs).

First, they share a set of beliefs that is not limited to but includes these: 1) Market is the eternal entity that can and should shape the lives of people  2) Free market is the only thing in the world that will sustainably improve the lives of people  3) Anything that interferes with or tends to control the market is evil  4) while egalitarian utopia is an impossibility, second best possibility is where free market will lead  us.

Second, they are solidly unified in ignoring this reality: while capitalism does promote competition, it definitely does not do so in uniform pattern across time and space. Outright monopoly, oligopoly, and monopolistic competition are as much the part of baggage of capitalism as is competition in its ordinary sense. While contrasting capitalism with socialism, they never fail to brag about the endless potential for innovation in a competitive environment, they categorically maintain silence on these details: 1) effective monopoly of some market forces discouraging innovation in today's world (an example of how monopolistic tendency manifests at micro-level; this is elaborated extremely well in the works of economist Joseph Stiglitz) 2) the phenomenon of increasing prominence of monopolistic tendency at macro level sweeping across the  globe, often described as Monopoly-finance capital.

Third is the factor of denial. The whole philosophy of free market utopia resides on the belief that market can do no bad. Just to take an example, while the concerns that the the fossil fuels may be depleted too soon are being gradually superseded among sensible people by the graver concerns that the planet may not be able to withstand the burning of all the discovered fossil fuels, FMFs are as enticed by their market-does-no-bad formula as ever. Obviously the market always loves the things like production of ‘dirty’ oil from the tar sands and solidly incentivizes the projects that intend to accelerate the global rise of temperature so that the Arctic ice melts potentially enabling the market forces to unleash the oil wealth beneath it.

 Massive deforestation, desertification of land, unparalleled levels of pollution and egregiously rapid loss of biodiversity have all been the increasingly prominent concerns of people in different parts of the world while the overarching problem of global warming and climate change is becoming increasingly obvious by the day. But how do the FMFs respond to this: by denying. Neo-cons in US and elsewhere have reached so far as to construct their own fictive science to counter the credible findings of climate change science.

Fourth, they allege the strong state to be behind everything that goes wrong in the world, be it a direct result of the weakness of the state or a case of state being overwhelmed by the malevolent private players. If state leaves things alone, they argue, everything will fall in its place. 

फासीवाद र "सामाजिक फासीवाद"

विभुषित बिष्ट 

बारम्बार चर्चामा आउने गरेका फासीवाद र सामाजिक फासीवादजस्ता शब्दहरुले यथार्थमा के जनाउँछन्? के नेपालमा चर्चा गर्ने गरिएझैं फासीवादले टाउको उठाउन थालेकोहो? कान्तिपुरका दुई स्तम्भहरु पढेपछि विभुषित विष्टले गरेको विश्लेषण:

नेपाली कम्युनिस्टहरु "इतिहासमा भएका कमी-कमजोरीहरुबाट सिक्नुपर्छ" भन्ने गर्छन। तर त्यो कुरा कागजमा मात्र सिमित हुन्छ, व्यवहारमा लागु हुदैन। यसैको अघिल्लो एउटा उदाहरण म प्रस्तुत गर्न चाहन्छु। अहिले नेपाली कम्युनिस्टहरु एक अर्कालाई फासीवादी र "सामाजिक फासीवादी" को आरोप लगाउदै हिडिरहेका छन्। केहि समय अगाडि नेकपा(मसाल) का महामन्त्री मोहनविक्रम सिंहले बाबुराम भट्टराईको सरकारलाई र एकीकृत माओवादी पार्टीलाई "सामजिक फासीवादी" भएको आरोप लगाएको सुन्नमा आयो। त्यस्तै, क. किरणको नेतृत्वमा रहेको नेकपा-माओवादीबाट पनि हामीले यस्तै कुरा सुन्यौं। हामीकहाँ फासीवाद भन्ने शब्द एकदमै हल्का रूपमा प्रयोग गर्ने गरेको पाइन्छ। कुनै पनि कठोर, अधिनायकवादी, सर्वसत्तावादी व्यक्ति अथवा नेतालाई हामीले "फासीवादी" भनेर भन्ने गर्छौं। जनयुद्धको बेला पनि हामीले माओवादीले कहिले गिरिजाप्रसाद कोइरालालाई त कहिले ज्ञानेन्द्रलाई "फासिष्ट" भनेर सम्बोधन गरेको पायौ। तर के उनीहरु साँच्चिकै फासीवादी थिए त? यो कुरा थाहा पाउन हामीले फासीवादको जरैसम्म पुग्न जरूरी छ। हामीसंग मार्क्सवादको रूपमा एउटा यस्तो दरिलो हतियार छ जसको माध्यमबाट हामी जुनसुकै कुराको पनि सटिक विश्लेषण गर्न सक्छौ। यस्तै फासीवादको पनि एकमात्र सटिक मार्क्सवादी विश्लेषण गरेका थिए महान क्रान्तिकारी क. लिओन ट्रट्स्कीले।

फासीवादको जननी भनेर इटालीलाई चिनिन्छ। त्यहाँ बेनिटो मुसोलिनीले फासीवादको सुरुवात गरेका थिए। त्यसैलाई पछ्याउदै हिटलरले जर्मनीमा र जनरल फ्रान्कोले स्पेनमा फासीवादी शासन लादेका थिए। तर फासिवाद र अन्य तानाशाही व्यवस्थाहरुकोबीच केहि गहिरो भिन्नता भन्ने अवश्य नै छ। फासीवादको वर्गीय चरित्र के हो त? फासीवाद भनेको मुलत: एक निम्न-पुँजीपतिवर्गमा आधारित व्यवस्था हो। यस आन्दोलन ठूला पुँजीपतिद्वारा निर्देशित, संचालित र आर्थिक रूपमा सहयोग गरिएको हुन्छ। यस आन्दोलनका मुख्य वर्गहरु निम्न-पुँजीपति, आवारावर्ग तथा केहि हदसम्म सर्वहारावर्गका पनि केहि तप्का सामेल भएका हुन्छन। यस आन्दोलनले जरा गाड्ने समय भनेको त्यसबेला हो, जब पुँजीवाद गहिरो आर्थिक संकटबाट गुज्रिरहेको हुन्छ। यस्ता आर्थिक संकटहरुबाट सबैभन्दा बढी पिरोलिने भनेको सर्वहारावर्ग नै हुन्छन। त्यसकारण उनीहरुलाई आकर्षित गर्न फासीवादिहरुले समाजवादी शब्दावलीलाई पनि प्रयोग गरेका हुन्छन। इटालीका मुसोलिनी त पहिला समाजवादी नै थिए भने हिटलरले पनि आफ्नो पार्टीको नाममा 'समाजवाद' शब्द जोडेको थियो।

फासीवादको उदय कस्तो अवस्थामा हुन्छ त? र यसको वर्गीय स्वरूप कस्तो हुन्छ? मैले पहिले भने जस्तै फासीवादले खेल्न ठाउँ पाउने भनेको गहिरो आर्थिक मन्दी तथा आर्थिक संकटको बेला हो, जस्तै अहिलेको अवस्था छ। यस्ता आर्थिक संकटको बेला पुँजीवादको वास्तविक रुप सर्वहारावर्गले देख्न पाउछन। आर्थिक संकटले आफुसंगै बेरोजगारी, दरिद्रता, समस्याहरुमात्र लिएर आउँछ। फलस्वरूप सर्वहारावर्गले यसको विरुद्ध संघर्ष गर्न थाल्छन। सर्वहारावर्गको बढ्दो शक्ति देखेर बुर्जुवावर्ग तर्सिन थाल्छन र जसरि हुन्छ क्रान्तिकारी आन्दोलनलाई दबाउन तिर लाग्छन। तर जब उनीहरुको केहि लाग्दैन, त्यसबेला अन्तिम विकल्पस्वरूप उनीहरुले शासन-सत्ता निम्न-पुँजीपति वर्गको हातमा थमाइदिन्छन। र फलस्वरूप सर्वहारावर्गलाई ठेगान लगाउन एउटा तानाशाह आइपुग्छ। जस्तै, हिटलर, मुसोलिनी आदि।

२०६९: दुखान्तको वर्ष

नयाँ वर्षलाई स्वागत गर्दै गर्दा पुरानो वर्षलाई बिर्सिहाल्नु हुँदैन किनकि त्यसले आउने वर्षका लागि थुप्रै सन्देशहरु दिइरहेको हुन्छ । यो छोटो आलेखमा २०६९ का केही महत्वपूर्ण घटना र विकास क्रमको चर्चा गरौं ।

दुखान्त १ः माओवादीको कायाकल्प

नेपालको राजनीतिक परिदृश्यको कुरा गर्दा २०६९ मा सबैभन्दा बढी गुमाउने दल एमाओवादी रह्यो । दश वर्षे सशस्त्र युद्धको औचित्य पुष्टि गर्नका लागि उसले २०६३ यताका वर्षमा उल्लेख्य राजनीतिक पुँजी जम्मा गरेर राखेको थियो । त्यो पुँजी के भने बहूदलीय प्रतिस्पर्धाकै राजनीतिमा भए पनि ऊ काँग्रेस र एमाले लगायतका पहिलेका संसदीय राजनीतिक दलभन्दा फरक देखिन्थ्यो । कतिसम्म भने राज्य पुनर्संरचना लगायतका विषयमा उसको धारणा र अरु स्थापित दलको धारणामा आकाश पातालको अन्तर भएकाले पनि देशमा हुने कुनै पनि ठूलो स्केलको परिवर्तन उसकै बलबुतामा मात्र हुन सम्भव भएको भन्ने धेरैलाई लागेको थियो ।

तर २०६९ सालभर जब संविधान सभाको अवसानपछि राजनीतिक मूद्दा ओझेलमा परेर मानिसले माओवादी नेतृत्वको सरकारको शासनसत्तामार्फत् उसका व्यवहारिक आर्थिक र अन्य पाटाहरुलाई मिहीन रुपले हेर्न थाले, पुरानो माओवादीको खोलमा एउटा नयाँ, कुरुप र भद्दा नयाँ एमाओवादीको रुप देखा पर्यो । मुस्ताङ चढेको बाबुरामको धमिलो छविलाई हिसिला यमीको डरलाग्दो र दुस्साहसी पाराको भ्रष्ट छविले पूरै ओझेल पार्यो । मान्छेले चोभारनेरको बाग्मतीको पानी र हिसिला कम्पनीको स्वचछतालाई उस्तै देख्ने अवस्था आयो र भ्रष्टाचारी भनेर चिनेका काँग्रेस र एमालेका हरेक नेतालाई साधूजस्तो देखायो यमी र गच्छेदारको गठबन्धनले ।

Contents: New year special issue

Debunking the myth of (past) communist regimes

Understanding South Asia through Fiction: Sea of Poppies Book review, by Jiwan Kshetry

"Regimes in USSR and China were far from communism" Interview with Anonymous

The U.S. backs Israel's criminal policies financially, diplomatically, and militarily but doesn't want it highlighted Interview with Jeremy R Hammond, editor of Foreign Policy Journal

Regimes in USSR and China were harsh forms of State Capitalism Excerpts from Interview with Prof. Chaitanya Mishra

Of Hope and Pain: Rachel Corrie’s Rafah Legacy Opinion piece by Ramzy Baroud

Top Ten Myths about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Opinion piece by Jeremy R Hammond

‘समावेशी, बहुजातीय र बहुभौगोलिक संघीयता नै नेपालका लागि उपयुक्त’ -प्रा. चैतन्य मिश्र Exclusive interview

हत्या Short story by Avaya Shrestha

Combating stress and seeking happiness: A monologue Reflections, Jiwan Kshetry

Construction of Beauty: a post-colonial and neo-Marxist discourse Opinion piece by Indra Dhoj Kshetri

Metamorphosis Short story, Jiwan Kshetry

Future of Nepali communists: through the lens of upcoming polls Opinion piece by Subhas Lamichhane

Understanding South Asia through Fiction: Sea of Poppies

How Amitav Ghosh uses a plot from early 19th century India to capture the essence of South Asian societies over the centuries in 'Sea of poppies'.

Books: the noble reflections of society and people

How do you understand a society, and a people? Apparently, there are many ways of doing so. A year back when I shared a typically provocative article by Arundhati Roy in Outlookmagazine titled 'Capitalism: A Ghost Story' in twitter, a friend from Egypt was astonished. Apparently, he had much more pleasant impression of India as a democratic and just society. I have similar experience with other foreigners who have romantic ideas of Nepal and get easily disappointed once they are physically here. As such, a comprehensive understanding of societies is possible with multiple approaches to understand different aspects of them and each such medium has its own merits and demerits. 

In my experience, books are one thing whose importance can be matched by no other means of knowing a society and a people. Authors are thus people whose expertise on a particular domain of the society gives us the opportunity to learn many things in little time and at a small cost. In the list of people who have helped me understand India and the subcontinent, Jawaharlal Nehru comes at the top and his voluminous book 'Glimpses of World History' is one book that profoundly helped me grasp history, not as a discipline that you merely study but as something that you study and relate with your present life so as to understand the world around you better. I have read the book more than once and recommend the book for those who do not dread a book looking at its size. (In fact, I first read the book when I was yet to abandon the idea of authoring a book and have written a couple of lengthy articles inspired by- and rather copying from the book!)

When I fetched 'Sea of Poppies' by Amitav Ghosh from a small book stall behind Hotel Taj in Mumbai along with Vinod Mehta's 'Lucknow Boy', I had no idea what exactly I was expecting from the two books, and the authors. Nearly frustrated with my failure to understand Mumbai better with the physical presence there and dragging the not-exactly-enthusiastic feet, thanks to sleep deprivation, I was looking for an alternative way of understanding India. Neither of the two authors let me down and moreover, I discovered more in each than I could have ever expected.