South Asia and Beyond: One year on, legacy of Dr Govinda K C survives at TUTH

Friday, July 5, 2013

One year on, legacy of Dr Govinda K C survives at TUTH

(Recent posts on the issue:

पानी धमिल्याउने कोशिस गर्दै डा शशि शर्मा

Host of bodies at TUTH come formally in solidarity of Dr. Govinda K C

डा गोविन्द के सी को आमरण अनशनः भ्रम र यथार्थ

'IOM an institute, not prostitute'; Dr Govinda K C declares war against the corrupt TU officials and their political patrons

भविष्य कसाइको हातमा कि डाक्टरको?

शिक्षण अस्पताल, राजनीति र अपराध

IOM affiliation fiasco: test of credibility and integrity for Lokman Singh Karki

खराब डाक्टर निर्माणको कथा)

Recapitulating the developments in TUTH over past year in relation to the two fasts by Dr. Govinda K C, I realize that the fight to ensure better accountability in the institution has not been an easy one. And if it were not for the daring challenge by Dr K C, the status quoits would have won the fight long back. An overview:

Last year this day, Dr. Govinda K C started his first fast-onto-death. The CA had just collapsed after monumental failure to draft constitution in the country and TUTH also appeared to be at the brink, ready to sink at any time.

It was a not-exactly-bright summer day, just like today when he gave his justification for the fast and ventured into the uncharted territory. The number of people in the institution siding with him in his drive against institutionalization of corruption was impressive. The TUTH seminar hall soon became the rallying point for all those who wanted transparency and better accountability in the institution.

Looking back after one year, Dr K C has been by and large successful in the mission. But that has not come at a small price. The hidden aspects of the saga were far more decisive than the apparent ones in determining the outcome. Here I will scrutinize three crucial moments over the past year when Dr. K C's unwavering instance saved the institution from outright plunder.

Moment one: first fast onto death

During the first fast, Baburam Bhattarai had been a thoroughly discredited leader after letting the CA collapse during his term as PM and still sticking to the post. He was largely powerless and more so in the face of TU officials all of whom had got the posts for their political affiliations. In particular the Jhalanath-appointed VC Hira Bahadur Maharjan appeared ready to go to any length to ensure that the plunder continued in the institution and his part of the cut kept flowing to him. The vested interests were so intense that not even the Chancellor of the university, the PM, could do anything.

Dr. K C during the first fast onto death

As a result, the fast stretched for four long days. There was a widespread hue and cry, national media also covered the developments well. Finally, the TU officials had to relent and they appointed a senior Pharmacology professor Dr. KK Kafle as TUTH Dean apparently in the basis of seniority as demanded by Dr. K C. For the time being, the crisis was over.

Moment two: the second fast onto death

Barely a month had passed and the new Dean retired. In the meantime, the TU officials had been applying all their might to restore the old system of patronage and plunder. They neither made the appointments in junior posts in the institution as recommended by Dr Kafle nor showed any willingness to appoint new Dean on the basis of merit or seniority.

Within six weeks of first fast, the situation became what it had been before: TU officials were again scrambling to get their party's man to the post of Dean at TUTH. The promise of seniority-based appointment had been duly abandoned.

Thus Dr. K C was forced to his second fast onto death on a rather disappointing and frustrating environment in the institution, barely a month and half from first fast. This time, the sycophants of politicians in the hospital did everything to discredit him and went on to even stage a farcical relay fasting in the premises of the hospital.

At the end however, after Dr. K C had undergone a arduous 5-day long fasting, authorities were forced to yield to his demand and they appointed Dr. Prakash Sayami as Dean in seniority basis.

Moment three: the fast that was avoided

The crisis again came haunting the institution when Dr. Sayami was forced to resign by the TU authorities who were unwilling to mend their ways and scrambled to get their men (read the sycophants of politicians) in positions inside IOM and TUTH at any cost.

As the matter lingered for days and TU authorities drew a lot of negative publicity for forcing a seniority-based appointee to resign, nothing appeared to really change.

It was at this moment that Dr K C played most crucial and decisive role in the whole saga. Reportedly, the politicians on the right and the left of the spectrum and their representatives in the institution were about to make merry arrangement by dividing important posts in the institutions in a truce (for a surrogate war was going on between the two camps for long and especially with the fasts of Dr. K C). Dr. Sayami's imminent departure had set the ground for that and a compromise solution would be acceptable to either side. Understandably, the scheme had no regard for virtues like seniority, merit or incorruptibility and in all likelihood, those with strongest blessings from the political parties would have got the berths.

But that plan eventually failed and Dr. Sayami was placated into taking back the resignation. The reason behind this was the ferocious opposition of Dr. K C to the scheme. Whatever the incentives of such an arrangement, forcing Dr. K C into another fast and taking responsibility for that was something the left-right collusion wanted to avoid.

The aftermath

Though not where it should have been as the prime educational and health institution of Nepal, TUTH now is in much better position than last year. The expansion of various services can be easily seen by anyone who visits the hospital. Financial health of the hospital is showing an improving trend. The credit for this should go to Dr. K C as well as Dr. Bhagawan Koirala who was subsequently appointed Executive Director of TUTH with the recommendation from Dr. Sayami.

Now comes a little riddle. Dr K C in a column in a daily had expressed his displeasure towards the working style of Dr. Koirala months back when the resignation of Dr. Koirala had triggered a nasty word of war between those who wanted him back and those who wanted the opposite. There, he had rebuked Dr. Koirala (without naming, of course) for being unnecessarily derisive of his colleagues in the hospital.

While I am in no position to substantiate or question stance of either of the two respected gentlemen, my understanding is that neither of the two is a perfect human being and contribution of each of them in bringing the institution back from the brink is greater than that of any other individual(s) in the institution, at least over the past year. While different in nature and magnitude, their contributions to the institution had their own importance. While ascetic and incorruptible image of Dr. K C was decisive in breaking the trend of plundering the institution by the collusion of politicians and their proxies in the institution, a ruthlessly efficient management of Dr. Koirala was essential for micro-management of the institution.

To conclude, we should not forget the contribution made by Dr. K C to the institution for which he put his health and life itself in jeopardy. After all, in a country where every other public institution is hollowed by the blatant interference and plunder of politicians, it is important to keep at least some of them beyond their reach. Without the sacrifice of Dr, K C, it would have been impossible at TUTH.

Read the complete coverage of the fasts here and about the developments around Dr. Bhagawan Koirala's resignation here.

You may also be interested in:

In favor of PG doctors for districts

The Gurkha Legacy: Nepal's National Shame

Combating stress and seeking happiness: A monologue

गाउँमा बाल्यकालः केही स्मृतिहरु–१

No comments:

विजय कुमारको खुशी पढेपछि

जीवन, खुशी र अहंकार

जीवनमा अफ्ठ्यारा घुम्तीहरुमा हिंडिरहँदा मैले कुनै क्षणमा पलायनलाई एउटा विकल्पको रुपमा कल्पना गरेको थिएँ, त्यसलाई यथार्थमा बदल्ने आँट गरिनँ, त्यो बेग्लै कुरा हो । त्यसबेला लाग्थ्योः मेरा समग्र दुखहरुको कारण मेरो वरपरको वातावरण हो, यसबाट साहसपूर्वक बाहिरिएँ भने नयाँ दुख आउलान् तर तत्क्षणका दुरुह दुखहरु गायब भएर जानेछन् । कति गलत थिएँ म !

Why I write...

I do not know why I often tend to view people rather grimly: they usually are not as benevolent, well-intentioned and capable or strong as they appear to be. This assumption is founded on my own self-assessment, though I don’t have a clue as to whether it is justifiable to generalize an observation made in one individual. This being the fact, my views of writers as ‘capable’ people are not that encouraging: I tend to see them as people who intend to create really great and world-changing writings but most of the times end up producing parochial pieces. Also, given the fact that the society where we grow and learn is full of dishonesty, treachery, deceit and above else, mundanity, it is rather unrealistic to expect an entirely reinvigorating work of writing from every other person who scribbles words in paper.

On life's challenges

Somebody has said: “I was born intelligent but education ruined me”. I was born a mere child, as everyone is, and grew up as an ordinary teenager eventually landing up in youth and then adulthood. The extent to which formal education helped me to learn about the world may be debatable but it definitely did not ruin me. There were, however, things that nearly ruined me. There came moments when I contemplated some difficult choices. And there came and passed periods when I underwent through an apparently everlasting spell of agony. There came bends in life from which it was very tempting to move straight ahead instead of following the zigzag course.

Twenty-eight years of solitude

Some reflections on life

BP Koirala starts his Atma Brittanta with a peculiar statement that yet it was not time for him to write about himself. Of course, that is his greatness and great people are always more simple, straightforward and as BP himself says, emotional. That book is at par with Nehru's autobiographical works, particularly with respect to portraying the society and political upheavals of that time. Unfortunately, BP Koirala passed away too early and we are now deprived of more illustrious books in Nepali history.

The point now is, should I shun writing about myself citing BP's explanation; given that I am one of the thousands of self-advertizing people of our era and have done little to nil for larger society? This has always been the question before me whenever I sit down to write about myself. Should I burden the readers with my boring words about a parochial past that interests very few? Am I writing something really meaningful or am just writing for writing's sake? If I have sorrow, frustration and unfulfilled yearning in my life, should I share that with others who do not necessarily share parallel realities in life? If I have a miniature happiness every now and then, is that worth sharing with others? And finally, do my writings have any meaning in the longer term; say for the generation to come?

To me, every person beyond a certain level is a secluded entity. One may elaborate and express oneself to whatever lengths and depths but, at the end, there remains something that cannot be shared or expressed. Sometimes that seclusion becomes a prison, especially when one is going through tough times, and the person suffers. Other times, that becomes like the imagined world of paradise when the virtues of success and liberty abound in one's life. But the latter is a very infrequent happening in my experience. Over all, the secluded and solitary self of a person is a place where one is pretty vulnerable to recurrent to persistent bouts of ill-being.

Some of the geniuses of our times have adapted to that omnipresent solitude in a productive way. That way the seclusion results in a productive life. But even to them, sometimes it becomes unbearable and the whole episode ends in a tragedy; the monumental example being the tragic suicide of Bhairav Nath Aryal, the legendary satirist of Nepali literature. The tragic end of Michael Jackson's life could be another example when success, fame and money cannot even scratch the melancholy that tends to boil inside a person.

Read more

अपूर्व रमाइलो एउटा तिहार

औंशी हिजै थियो तर अन्धकार आज पनि उत्तिकै थियो । ब्यारेकमा आज महिनौंपछि पहिलो पटक स्यालको रक्सी आइपुगेको थियो । बाहिरबाटै झिकाएको मृगको सुकुटीसित त्यो रक्सी खाएर मेजर रणसिंह शमशेर जबरा सुतेको थियो तर निद्रा आउने नामै लिइरहेको थिएन । मरेको भतिजको अनुहार झल्झली आइरहेको थियो । साथमा ऊ मारिएपछि घर जाँदा आफन ो खुट्टामा छाँद हालेर रोएकी उसकी युवती विधवाको अनुहारले पिछा छोड्नै मानिरहेको थिएन ।

मेजरले कोल्टे फेर्यो । घोप्टो पर्यो । तर कुनै तरिकाबाट निदा आएन । ऊ जस्तोसुकै भयानक युद्धको बीचमा पनि आफ्नो अन्तस्करणलाई डग्न नदिने मान्छे आज भने भित्रभित्रै काँपिरहेको थियो । आक्रोश, क्षोभ, पश्चात्ताप, बदलाभाव आदिले एकैचोटि उसको मथिंगल खल्बलाइदिएका थिए ।

भोलिपल्ट भाइ टिकाको दिन थियो । अघिल्ला वर्षमा झैै यसपालि पनि दशैं तिहारका लागि गरिएको युद्धविराम कायम थियो र देशभरका सैनिक र प्रहरीहरु विरल चैनको निद्रा सुतिरहेका थिए । तर मेजर जबराका लागि भने अघिल्लो सालदेखि हरेक तिहार अभिषाप भएर आउने गरेका थिए । देश युद्धमा फसिसकेपछि सबैले विरोध गर्दा गर्दै पनि उसले एक मात्र भतिजलाई सैनिकमा भर्ना हुन चार वर्ष अघि आश्वस्त पारेको थियो । तर अघिल्लो वर्षको तिहार मनाएर घरबाट फर्कंदै गर्दा उसलाई विद्रोहीहरुले आक्रमण गरेर निर्ममतापुर्वक मारेका थिए ।

भाग्यले भनौं वा दुर्भाग्यले, केही दिन अघि मात्र तिहारकै मुखमा कताबाट हुत्तिएर एउटी दुश्मन फौजकी केटी यो ब्यारेकमा आइलागेकी थिई । सादा पोशाकका मानिसले महिनौ.अघि पक्रेकी भनिएकी यो केटी खै कुन काकतालीले हो यो ब्यारेकमा तिहारको मुखमै पुगेकी थिई । देख्नासाथ मेजर जबराको रगत उम्लेर आएको थियो तर खै किन हो त्यसको भााग्य फैसला गर्न हिच्किचाएको थियो र त्यसको भाग्य के हुने हो कसैले अनुमान लगाउन सकेका थिएनन् ।

खै कुन घडीमा हो मेजरलाई निद्रा लागेछ । बिहान ब्युँझँदा छर्लंग उज्यालो भएको थियो । हिउँदको घामका कलिला किरणहरु जताततै पोखिइरहेका थिए । दिन साविकभन्दा बढी उज्यालो लागिरहेको थियो । ओसेपमा अझै पनि शीत चुहिरहेको थियो तर पारीपट्टि दक्षिण फर्केको पाखामा खरको शीत सुकिसकेको थियो । गोरेटोको छेउमा लगाएका केतुकीका पातहरु टल्किरहेका थिए । वर्षाभरि घाँस काटेपछि खरबारीमा छाडिएका गाइबस्तुहरु चर्न बाटोबाट झरिरहेका थिए ।

k"/f syf k9\g'xf];\

The Stagnant River

It was a not-so-cold day of early December on the southern plain of Terai. The fog had just started descending to the land from the sky but the cold proper was yet to grip the population majority of which lacked the adequate clothes to tolerate it. The day was thus warm and pleasant from the morning. The river which had a dam built downwards was in slow motion as if to share the calm of the surrounding. The small bubbles and other tiny particles of debris were floating glittering bright with the rays of light that fell on them at acute angle. The warm yet cool rays of light traveled in bands between the Sisau trees that lined the eastern bank of the river. The images of the trees in the water seemed to touch the blue sky at the bottom of the river.

A crow flew across the river to sit on a branch of a tree on the other side as few others were heard crowing at distance interrupting the calm of the morning. The distant rumbling of the speeding vehicles with their blazing horns reminded what a rush was there in the real life in the city. A cartoon like sketch of a human being lay there in front of Ramesh, carved in a block of concrete probably meant for keeping the belongings of the deceased before they were cremated in the adjoining cemetery. The sketch looked pretty distorted despite the utmost effort of the artist to make it look like a human being; this is probably why so few among the people are successful artists.

The 'Ghat' or the cemetery bore a deserted look as the morning sun made it look perfectly tranquil. The partially burnt wooden logs scattered beside the river made it clear at least one corpse was cremated in past few days. A piece of cloth was seen revolving along a small circle in the water close to this bank. Ramesh was suddenly filled with sympathy for those who died planning throughout their life and failing to implement even a single of them. Even those who died after aging adequately kept planning for years, let alone the unlucky ones who are forced to leave this world earlier. This gloomy reality reminded him of the desperation with which he had exited his room to take refuge of this cemetery in the early morning; quite unusual by any standards. The tranquility in this remote corner of human dwelling had almost made him forget the sorrow that was there in his personal life. 'How can an unfortunate creature like me afford such pleasant moments?' he ruminated as often.

The sun was now closer and warmth was growing. And this warmth in winter was an uncommon commodity in this section of earth where the fog ruled almost the whole of the winter. The shadows of the trees were now shorter and the floating particles in the river seemed to travel faster. More crows were now flying tree-to-tree and the chirpings were of more variety. The dew drops on the leaves of grasses began to vanish though the leaves in the shadows of trees were still wet.

Suddenly a beggar appeared as if from nowhere. He was probably of Ramesh's own age but looked much older with the wrinkles gifted by poverty all over the face. He wore a dirty grey shirt that was probably white when new with a pair of pants that most have been black when they were bought by some benefactor. He had a long face with untidy beards looking longer than they actually were by the emaciation that made the facial bones protrude. He was also wearing a rusted thin jacket that was unable to cover the front part of his trunk as there was no working zipper. As he came nearby, it turned out that he was not a beggar instead did the precious job of scavenging the useful things out of the waste: there was a huge sac made by sewing many pieces at his back that contained the plastic bags, papers and many other materials collected from the heaps of the waste. He walked stooped burdened by the weight of the luggage and was apparently moving to other location from the city and had taken the unusual short-cut through the cemetery.

"He is probably more unfortunate than me," Ramesh guessed and hoped to get some solace by talking with him. He politely invited this prematurely aged man to seat beside him. The man hesitated at first but eventually obliged as probably this was his time to take some rest even otherwise. After making little formal talking, he began a query about the past of this strange man. This scavenger was probably having difficulty speaking with a gentleman and was frequently looking for excuses to leave. Ramesh was able to coax him into telling part of the story. He was from a family of relatively good fortune until a terrible disaster befell on them erasing all those fortunes, but he was apparently unable to explain what exactly the disaster was.

Commentary

2073/3/17, 1 July 2016

Int'l/Turkey

The chicken come home to roost. The disastrous bombing of Istanbul airport add a bloody chapter in Turkey's relationship with extremism. Personally, I was relieved that Erdogan desisted from blaming the Kurds straight away for the carnage. Erdogan's authoritarian bent was already too much for the Turks, now the added burdens of worsening IS attacks and bloody conflict with the Kurds is going to push them to the edge of the cliff. My sympathies.

Nepal/Media:

Annapurna Post decided to jump the Lokman ship in time so that the sycophancy and mock journalism will pay suitably. With the convenient scapegoat--a lady so ambitious she is ready to discard integrity for a petty 'gain'--ready to do the trick, it has started the campaign to belittle Dr. KC. How miserably they'll fail, only time will tell.

2073/3/16, 30 June 2016

Movie:

One daily's review that 'Lukamari' was a 'mediocre' movie had held me back from watching it earlier. After a personal recommendation, decided to watch and did so yesterday. It is not as finely made as 'Tulke' or 'Kabaddi' but is much better than the average mainstream Nepali movie. Hugely entertaining. Sadly, Nawazuddin Siddiqui's 'Raman Raghav 2.0' has left the halls before I could watch it.

2073/3/8, 22 June 2016

Nepal:

The heartrending cries of the relatives of those killed in Kabul attack have left the TIA gloomy. A stark reminder of the price a country like Nepal--with negligible stakes in geopolitics of Afghan war--has to pay inadvertently for the economy-saving remittances.

India:

1) The announcement by Raghuram Rajan, the governor of RBI, to leave the job at end of the current tenure months from now, raises fears of the potential triumph for unscrupulous business tycoons in India. Tinge of apprehension at home and abroad accompanies a sense of jubilation at Subramaniam Swamy camp. For me, he'll remain an exceptionally clear-headed intellectual.

2) Things may not be as dramatic as depicted in 'Udta Punjab' but India is in a race against time on 3 fronts: droughts and related problems, skewed sex ratio leading to demographic distortion and drugs. Pessimism should not overwhelm us, though.

Venezuela:

Food riots reminiscent of medieval times. Ethiopia, once the poorest in the world, has fended off the past year's huge drought much much better averting a famine while Venezuela, sitting atop the world's largest oil reserves, has nearly 90% of its citizens now without enough money for food. Stark reminder of the human folly at play. Wonder what Hugo Chavez would have done to avoid this abyss if cancer had spared him.

Personal:

Enthused by a better-than-expected response for my Thorong-La travelogue, plan to write couple of similar pieces on same journey soon. The comprehensive essay will go for a book that I plan to write some day though! (Don't believe it fully though) Also expect a piece on 'Nakkali docotors' soon.

South Asia and Beyond

Pages