Relationships matter a great deal in Nepal, which, in and of itself, is not necessarily a bad thing. But when a relationship, like friendship, trumps doing the right thing to fend off attack on a freedom guaranteed by the constitution, and therefore on one of the very foundations on which democracy rests, something has gone horrible wrong somewhere.
With permission from the author, I am reproducing interesting parts from the book Unleashing Nepal by Sujeev Shakya. This is the first one and it's about how and who started the very peculiar and regressive chakari (ass-kissing) system in the country.
Since 1990, little by little, my people from the little village of Tangbe in Mustang District have been reclaiming their identity. Here's one of the ways they are doing that.
They say you should look at the streets and traffic to get a sense for how a country is doing and what it is all about!
What does a video of the challenges I faced crossing a road in Kathmandu say about Nepal, our country?
When I did this episode of Kantipur FM radio program The Music Jam in 1998, only a year had passed since construction of Kali Gandaki "A" hydroelectric power plant had begun. (It would ultimately be completed in 2002). And yet, a number of irregularities had already surfaced and the project was already mired in controversy.
