Democracy For Nepal

A Directly Elected President Is Not Going To Be A Dictator

2012-01-16T19:38:00.002-05:00

Image via WikipediaI am not talking electoral college. In America the president is not elected directly or Al Gore would have won in 2000, not George Bush. I am talking electing the president directly in Nepal. President Or Prime Minister? Let's imagine a scenario. We have a new constitution and now it is time to head towards elections. The Maoists and the Madhesi Morcha might form an alliance

President Or Prime Minister?

2012-01-02T12:00:00.001-05:00

Image via WikipediaI was super engaged in 2005, 2006 and half way through 2007. I have been rather disengaged from the middle of 2008. But I just came across this article by Kanak Mani Dixit that gave me a glimpse into some of the work that is being done into the new constitution. He seems to be opposed to the idea of a directly elected president. I have supported the idea. And I don't think my

Ye To Had Ho Gayee

2011-11-14T15:53:00.002-05:00

This video clip has been making the rounds right now among some Nepalis. Some people are rightly offended. But those same people were okay when artists like Santosh Pant made fun of the Madhesis on TV. This particular clip does not have it, but the program did. And then there is this. An American getting offended that Nepal's Kumari got stripped of her spiritual status because she

Baburam Compared To Barack

2011-11-06T23:02:00.000-05:00

Haaretz: The audacity of hope in Nepal It is hard to think of two cultures more dissimilar than those of America and Nepal. The first glorifies an individual's ability to change in order to get ahead and overcome the many obstacles in his path. Therefore there is no story more beloved than a "Cinderella" tale: Against all the odds, thanks only to their abilities, a poor person breaks through and

Badhai Jiba Lamichhane Lai

2011-10-14T14:49:00.000-04:00

Lamichhane elected NRNA prez NRN Event At Thakali Kitchen Darshan Rauniyar For Congress ANA Convention: Reflections ANA Convention: My Hamro Nepal Speech

Brikhesh Chandra Lal On The New Alliance

2011-09-20T16:44:00.000-04:00

NRN Event At Thakali Kitchen

2011-09-18T04:30:00.001-04:00

I happened by the NRN event at the Thakali Kitchen yesterday. I was out and about taking pictures when two people from out of town - Ratan Jha and Mukesh Singh - showed up on my camera's screen. I show up for events. I don't join organizations. That has been my style. That was my style also when I was doing full time work for Nepal's democracy and Madhesi movements. It was good to see people

Baburam Bhattarai: Good News

2011-08-28T23:24:00.003-04:00

May 29, 2011: Where To From Here? March 20, 2005: Doing Business With Baburam Bhattarai The guy is honest. He is smart. He is a communist, but he is not dogmatic. He is socially progressive. A few years back he compared the plight of the Madhesis in Nepal with the blacks in South Africa during the apartheid regime. For the first time I am feeling like the peace process in Nepal might finally

Bits And Pieces

2011-08-14T09:08:00.017-04:00

The Google/Facebook Of Microfinance Seeking Head Of State Like Powers My Web Diagram Social Concentric Circles Wearing Black Black Friday My Failures Larry Ellison's 1995 Network Computer Vision Eric Schmidt's Cloud Computing And My IC Vision Google's Newest Venture: Google Ventures Permanent War 54 Followers On Angel List The Significance Of Eating An Apple Me In The New York Times Paul

At The Buspark (2)

2011-07-22T18:24:00.003-04:00

At The Buspark (2), Kentucky Blues At The Buspark The legend has it I got beat up at the buspark and that is where it all started. The truth is nobody laid hands on me. My classmates who plotted the whole thing were so scared of me they did not bother showing up themselves. They knew they had to come back to school once the vacation was over. Where were they gonna go? Another meme has it

Darshan Rauniyar For Congress

2011-07-09T20:02:00.000-04:00

Facebook Photo Album

Bryan Adams In Kathmandu

2011-06-28T15:33:00.000-04:00

Two Chief Guests: Non Resident Nepali Gathering: Times Square: June 25 Budding banker steals Bryan Adams' show in Nepal it was a 27-year-old budding banker who found herself a celebrity overnight with her face in the major newspapers Sunday..... For Brinda Singh, an executive with the Bank of Kathmandu, it was the icing on the cake. Her greatest joy was on being chosen by the Canadian

Economic Revolution In Nepal And The NRN Movement

2011-06-28T13:21:00.004-04:00

Two Chief Guests: Non Resident Nepali Gathering: Times Square: June 25 An economic revolution would be near double digit growth rates year in year out for 30 years. But the country has to get a new constitution first, and it will, it is only a matter of time. I was The Reason the political revolution happened in Nepal in 2006. And I am going to be The Reason an economic revolution takes place

The Most Important Question To Ask In Kathmandu

2011-06-12T15:02:00.000-04:00

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Rajesh Ahiraj Has A Right To Free Speech

2011-06-11T13:21:00.001-04:00

(Some parts of the chat has been edited out) Rajesh Ahiraj 37 minutes ago Rajesh Ahiraj kaise hay 37 minutes ago Paramendra Kumar Bhagat thik hain? aap kaise hain? 37 minutes ago Rajesh Ahiraj may bhi... 37 minutes ago Paramendra Kumar Bhagat how are things? all that arrest and stuff -- is that all behind you? 36 minutes ago Rajesh Ahiraj sab kuchh aap kesamne hay..... 35 minutes ago

Where To From Here?

2011-05-29T00:49:00.001-04:00

A New Prime Minister An all party government that commands at least two thirds majority in the parliament would be the best for giving the country a new constitution. When the three big parties and all the Madhesi parties get together, I think they reach that mark, although I will have to crunch the numbers. I think it would be fair that such a government be led by a Maoist since they are the

Finally A Janajati Party

2011-05-29T00:09:00.000-04:00

Image via WikipediaRepublica: Lekhi launching new party Sunday: Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (Nefin) President Raj Kumar Lekhi is all set to announce a new political party called Nepali Citizens Party (NCP) .... a seven-member central committee with representatives from indigenous groups, Muslim comunity, Dalits, women and other backward classes of society. ..... the new party

CK Lal: New School Event: April 30

2011-04-27T00:59:00.001-04:00

Masu-Bhat and homeland politics

Enduring Everest By Ajay Thakur

2011-04-23T22:16:00.002-04:00

Enduring Everest By Ajay Thakur Enduring Everest By Ajay Thakur Chapter 7: Letter From Ministry It was one December morning, unusually bright, as the mist of pollution had settled down with the rains day before, making snow visible on the mountains far beyond in Nagarkot, like a deity. Sky was clear and spotless, sun felt cold as the wind blew unkindly. I put on my big jacket which I had

Nepalis In New York And The NRN Movement

2011-04-21T21:50:00.001-04:00

Looks like there is some kind of a NRN event in New York City next month and I have been approached by a friend to try and get a VIP local politician to show up as the Chief Guest. I have a State Senator friend in mind, Bill Perkins of Harlem who was the first elected official in New York to support Obama when he first ran for president. Once I know the precise date and time for the event, I can

Nepali Slaves In The Middle East

2011-04-12T11:12:00.000-04:00

Source: The Guardian

A Smart Political Move By Prachanda

2011-02-04T16:54:00.001-05:00

Image via WikipediaAn all party government in Baburam Bhattarai's leadership was the best option for the peace process and constitution drafting. But this move by Prachanda to prop up Jhalanath Khanal is smart on Prachanda's part. Jhalanath Khanal has had seniority. He was General Secretary of his party when Madan Bhandari was junior to him. The guy obviously has a long tail. Hopefully now

Budget

2010-11-20T18:00:00.000-05:00

ANTA Convention: Emotional Bath

2010-09-27T13:33:00.006-04:00

Venue: World's Fair Marina (Wikipedia article) The venue was gorgeous, and the convention lasted for long enough. I got to meet Madhesis I had not met in a while, I got to meet Madhesis I had heard of but had not met yet, number one on that list was Professor JP Sah from Florida, also a Janakpur person like me, one of his daughters is doing a PhD in "aerospace engineering" at Purdue - "I have

Polarization Is Complete: Nepali Congress No Longer A Terai Party

2010-09-27T13:04:00.000-04:00

Image via WikipediaThe Nepali Congress launched its movements and revolutions over half a century with the Terai as its backbone of support. The Nepali Congress enjoyed power a few different times after 1990 because of the large number of votes it collected in the Terai. But now the Nepali Congress has become a purely Pahadi party. Of the 25 elected to the NC central committee, and the 14