First-Ever Public Meeting of Mind and Life Dialogue Opens in India

November 23rd 2010

New Delhi, India, 22 November 2010 : The Mind and Life Dialogues that began in 1987 as a joint quest between scientists, philosophers and contemplative practitioners to understand the human mind and the benefits of contemplative practices is holding its first public meeting in Asia.

Previous Mind and Life dialogues have predominantly explored the benefits of Buddhist-based contemplative practices. This 22nd edition of dialogue now being held at India Habitat Center in New Delhi from Nov. 20 to Nov. 23 is the outcome of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s wish to hold Mind and Life Dialogue in Asia particularly India where a rich array of philosophical and contemplative traditions have originated and developed since ancient times.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaking at the opening of the Mind and Life conference in New Delhi on November 21st, 2010. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL

The dialogue in New Delhi seeks to broaden the contemplative Science research by examining practices from the Indian philosophical and cultural heritage including Vendanta, Jain and Yoga.

Dr. Vijaylakshmi Ravindranath, chairman of the Center for Neuroscience of the Indian Institute of Sciences (Bangalore) and founder-director of the National Brain Research Center said holding such dialogues for the first time India, a land rich in contemplative science tradition would help neuroscientists find answers to critical questions in understanding the brain. Addressing His Holiness, she said Indian scientists are already showing enormous interests in the dialogue asking for workshops.

In his presentation during the first session of the Mind and Life dialogue, His Holiness the Dalai Lama dismissed the notion that science is a killer of religion adding Indian philosophical traditions including the Nalanda tradition of Buddhism emphasise the importance of investigation and reasoning in understanding the nature of reality. Such an approach like modern science requires one to be skeptical and adopt investigation to gain awareness or understanding of what benefits human beings in the long-term perspectives. “There’s no concept of right or wrong,” he said, “Investigate the reality and there’s no danger to religion.”

The purpose of Mind and Life Dialogue, according to His Holiness, is to simply expand knowledge not only on external matters but also internal matters such as mind. The knowledge gained through this approach will be used not only for individual benefit but for the well-being of the whole humanity. Sometimes remarkable scientific and technological knowledge, His Holiness said, are used for destructive purposes like nuclear weapons; when used for constructive purposes, it could promote a sense of individual well-being as well as concern for others. Religious methods alone cannot bring a compassionate and peaceful world.

His Holiness the DalaiLama and Swami Atmapriyananda exchange views during the Mind and Life conference in New Delhi on November 21st, 2010. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL

In the first session, Swami Atmapriyananda, the vice chancellor of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University who is also a physicist and a contemplative practitioner of Advaita Vendata tradition and Thupten Jinpa, the principal English translator to His Holiness and a Tibetan Buddhist scholar provided an overview of the philosophical perspectives from Hinduism and Buddhism. In their presentations, Swamiji and Mr. Jinpa discussed the ways their traditions articulated the wider understanding of reality that is the context for contemplative practices. They emphasized similarities and differences in addressing such questions as the nature of the mind and body, and techniques to achieve personal transformation. Mr. Jinpa said the primary sources of Tibetan Buddhism are the texts authored by Nalanda masters like Nagarjuna, Dhignath, Dharmakirti, Asanga, Vasobandhu, Shantideva, etc.

Dr. Richard Davidson, Director of Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at University of Wisconsin-Madison, in his presentation of scientific findings on the nature of contemplative practices reported benefits of compassion on brain for long-term practitioners including increase in mindfulness and attention. He said anxiety at anticipation of pain or suffering intensified in novice practitioners compared to expert practitioners. In his study of Attentional Blink Task, dramatic changes were cited among subjects who underwent three months training in meditation practices.

The third session on Nov. 22 focussed on the understanding Vedanta practice and its intersection with science with Swami Atmapriyananda making his presentation on the nature of the Advaita Vedanta practitioner. He discussed the number of stages of purification process that leads dehypnotizing the mind from false realities leading to ananda or pure bliss.

Commenting on Swamiji’s presentation on the ‘small self’ or ego merging into the ‘greater self’ as if understood in Vedanta tradition, His Holiness said the act of merging itself in a way indicates the deconstruction of the self. He drew the same analogy with the Christian practice of total submission of oneself to the creator or God. Another more secular way, he said, is to reduce self-centered arrogance. He said the methods are different in different traditions but the effect is same.

Indian Habitat Center in New Delhi, India, venue for the Mind and Life Conference from November 21-23, 2010. Photo/Tenzin Choejopr/OHHDL

His Holiness then discussed some cases of Tibetan practitioners who were clinically declared dead but their body remained fresh for 2-3 weeks indicating the existence of a subtler form of consciousness long after heart beating and blood circulation had stopped functioning. Three such cases were reported recently in south India where large Tibetan monasteries are located.

Dr. Singer said science have yet to find answers for such phenomena although they do occur.

His Holiness said until now science has focussed more attention on understanding the external things or outer realities in contrast to eastern traditions which have been around for centuries studying and investigating internal things. He said there needs to be a closer coordination among scientists and contemplative practitioners so science will become more complete by carrying out more research work on internal phenomena.

Dr. Matthieu Ricard, Buddhist practitioner and the French interpreter to His Holiness  said the dehypnotizing process explained by Swamiji was similar to Buddhist practice of undiluting a mind filled with distorted perceptions; the act of deconstructing misconceptional reality leading to pure awareness.

In session four of the Mind and Life Dialogue, His Holiness discussed the central practices in yoga and Jain traditions with Muni Mahendra Kumar, a multi-linguist versatile Jain scholar in physics, Mathematics, bioscience, philosophy, psychology, parapsychology, ancient history, and meditation and Dr. Shirley Telles, director of research at Patanjali Yogpeeth in Haridwarand head of Indian Council of Medical Research Center for Advanced Research in Yoga and Neurophysiology at Bangalore.

In addition to explaining the contemplative practices in Jainism, Muni Mahendra Kumar presented some empirical evidences of the overall benefits of emotional, mental and physical developments through Preksha (science of living) meditation carried out in over 10,000 schools in India. He called for a global education system where education is not only focussed on providing livelihood and career  but also on how to live a life, a social life, as a human being. He said reversal of coronary heart diseases among 20,000 patients were also reported. There were cases where immunity to cancer, AIDS, and drug addiction increased. Studies are also being carried out in areas such as juvenile delinquency. There are also efforts to bring non-violent soci-economic changes in Naxalite-hit areas of Jharkhand where efforts are on to bring non-violence training to poor people. Muni Mahendra Kumar emphasized the need for a systematic research design to help Indian scientists in implementing contemplative practices in everyday life.

Dr. Telles speaking on the physiology of meditation presented some findings from a series of studies carried out in the last 17 years to examine the application of yoga in clinical contexts for mental and physical health. Using five meditation traditions - four from yoga and one from Vipassana - the study found all five reduced signs of arousals in body such as blood pressure, reduced heart rate and metabolism. She also discussed the effects of meditation on attention and memory using the Dhyana and Dharana meditative states as practiced in the Patanjali Yoga Sutra. Studies were also carried out among schizophrenic patients using the Dharana meditation in understanding distorted perceptions.

In his presentation on expansion and contraction approaches in Vedanta contemplative practice, clinical scientist HR Nagendra explained the Samadhi, that level of consciousness when the meditator, the meditated, and the process of meditation merge together and become one.

His Holiness commenting on Dr. Nagendra’s presentation referred to descriptions of the nine stages of mental development in Samadhi process in Buddhist meditation manuals.

Dr. Rajesh Kasturirangan, associate professor at National Institute of Advanced Studies (Bangalore) who completed his doctorate in cognitive science at MIT in his comments suggested the integration of both philosophical and theoretical knowledge base of eastern and western traditions to explore grounds for unity. He said there could be avenues for the emergence of a new discipline of what he called “science of human nature” or study of well-being. Dr. Kasturirangan said benefits of well-being can be applied to many pressing contemporary issues such as education and climate change. This could be achieved by culling together best of theoretical ideas with latest advanced scientific developments. Citing Bertrand Russell’s quote on the incompatibility of Plato and Mathematics, he said it is possible for Nagarjuna and Neuroscience to be compatible.
 

source: H H Dalai Lama web site

China's Tibet sees booming trade with India thru Nathu La

China's Tibet sees booming trade with Nepal, India
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-10-28 17:24

LHASA - In an obscure corner on the Barkor, a famous market street in the heart of Tibet autonomous region's capital Lhasa, stands a centennial store that sells Nepalese handcraft items ranging from Buddha statues and ornaments to thangka paintings.

Local Tibetans call the store "Shamo Garbo," meaning "white hat," because the Nepalese man who opened it more than 100 years ago always wore a white hat and his name was too difficult for the locals to pronounce.

The present store owner, Ratna Kumar Tuladhar, is the man's great grandson.

"In my younger days I had to trek many days from Kathmandu to Lhasa in the Himalayas. Today, the two cities are linked by mountain roads and daily flights," said the 50-year-old.

China's three leading airline companies -- China Eastern, China Southern and Air China -- all operate passenger flights to Kathmandu.

Easier and cheaper transport has cut costs, offering a larger profit margin as well as discounted prices for the customers, he said.

As China steps up trade and economic cooperation between its southwestern region and the neighboring countries including Nepal and India, more businesspeople have invested in Tibet, said Su Yuanming, an official in charge of border trade at the regional commerce department.

"Such cross-border cooperation is conducive to Tibet's economic development and the overall growth of China's underdeveloped western regions," he said.

Tibet reported $254 million of border trade in the first eight months of this year, up 88 percent year-on-year, said Su.

He said trade with Nepal took up 95 percent of Tibet's border trade. "Last year, Tibet reported $249 million of bilateral trade with Nepal."

Meanwhile, trade with India totaled 16.3 million yuan ($2.44 million) last year, at least 10 times the 2006 volume, thanks to the 2006 reopening of Nathu La Pass, a historic trade route wedged between Yadong county of Tibet's Xigaze prefecture and India's Sikkim State.

China Inaugurates Fifth Airport in Tibet K J M Varma/Beijing | Oct 30, 2010 PRINT SHARE COMMENTS China inaugurated its fifth airport in Tibet, strategically close to the Indian border. The new 'civil airport' at Xigaze City in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region began operations today after it was inaugurated at a colourful ceremony, the official media here reported. An Air China Airbus 319 landed at 'Xigaze Peace Airport' in Jiangdang Township at 9:50 am, marking the airport's formal opening. The plane took off from Chengdu, the capital city of neighbouring Sichuan Province, and stopped at Lhasa before flying to Xigaze. The USD 79.7 million airport is located 3,782 meters above sea level and it is the fifth airport in Tibet built by China. The other airports included Lhasa, Nyingchi, Qamdo and Ngari. The new airport has a terminal space of 4,500 sq m and is expected to handle about 230,000 passengers and 1,150 tonnes of cargo annually by 2020, said Xu Bo, chief of the Civil Aviation Bureau of Tibet Autonomous Region. Over the past five years, China has poured over 70 billion yuan (USD 10 billion) into Tibet in 188 infrastructure projects to boost the regional economy and promote tourism, he said. Xiagaze, housing the monastery of the China-appointed Panchen Lama, the second highest spiritual Buddhist leader next to the Dalai Lama, is also the closest Tibetan city to the Indian, Nepal and Bhutan borders. Tibet was very much in news in the recent months as China expanded its air, rail and road network to connect almost all parts of the region to mainland China. The greater movement by China in the Tibetan region has raised security concerns in India as the infrastructure development would allow the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to move its troops to quickly to the Indian border. The PLA also conducted its first air and land military exercises in the Tibet recently. Tibet is also reporting increase in its trade with India and Nepal. Tibet's trade with India picked up after the opening of the Nathu La Pass, a historic trade route wedged between Yadong County of Tibet's Xigaze Prefecture and Sikkim, Xinhua said. Tibet's trade with India totaled 16.3 million yuan (USD 2.44 million) last year, at least 10 times the 2006 volume, thanks to the 2006 reopening of Nathu La Pass, Su Yuanming, an official in charge of border trade at the regional commerce department said. Filed On: Oct 30, 2010 17:30 IST ,  Edited On: Oct 30, 2010 17:30 IST

 

Address by Foreign Secretary at ORF Conference on China “India-China relations”

  

This is the full text of the speech given by Foreign Secretary, Nirupama Rao, at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) ahead of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to India.

3 December 2010

Ambassador Rasgotra,

Ambassador Raghunath,

Distinguished invitees,

Representatives of the Media, Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. This year saw India and China celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. A couple of weeks from now Premier Wen Jiabao will be India and will participate in the closing ceremony of the Festival of China in India which will bring to a close the calendar of activities organized in both China and India to commemorate this occasion. Sixty years is a short period of time in the relations of two countries whose ties date back many millennia. Ours has always been a broader engagement that took place between our peoples. Throughout history, scholars and pilgrims, traders and travellers, who “mortgaged their lives for pilgrimage” in the words of the renowned Chinese Indologist Ji Xianlin, engaged in a traffic of ideas between the two countries. The Buddhism that travelled from India to China was successfully Sinicised and survived in China as it found a place in the heart and soul of the people. It is in the context of our historical and popular relationship that we must always view and evaluate our contemporary relationship. Indeed, this was the vision that inspired Rabindranath Tagore during his sojourns in China in the early decades of the 20th Century.

2. The six decades of the India-China relationship behind us have record that is chequered. We became arbiters of our national destinies from the date of India’s independence and China’s liberation in the late forties of the last century, inspiring many others in Asia and Africa to independence and the fruition of national goals to end colonialism and foreign domination. This was the time when India and China in a sense, rediscovered each other, understanding the potential of the synergy between two of the largest populated nations in the world on the global stage. The vision of our founding fathers is in many ways within our reach today as we regain our place in Asia and the world as leading global economies. The awareness and the “muffled footsteps” (to use Tagore’s phrase) of historical contact between the two peoples of India and China created the basis for our well intentioned attempt in the fifties to build a new type of relationship based on Panchasheela or the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. It was an attempt which however faltered, telescoping into the troubled phase that enveloped our relationship in the sixties up until the mid seventies. The leadership in both our countries understood the untenability of any sustained estrangement between us. The last three decades have been marked by well-intentioned efforts of exploration towards establishing the framework of a stable, peaceful, productive, and multi-sectoral relationship between India and China. Contradictions are sought to be managed, and our differences have not prevented an expanding bilateral engagement and building on congruence. There are elements of cooperation and competition that form the warp and weft of our relationship. I propose to speak to you in some detail about the specifics of this engagement.

3. There are both challenges that the relationship confronts us with and also there are opportunities before it. As our Prime Minister has said, India and China will continue to grow, simultaneously, and our policies will have to cater to this emerging reality. For India, the situation is complex since China is not only our largest neighbour but also because China is today a major power in the world both from the traditional geo-political point of view and the more current geo-economic point of view. In the world of today, China is a factor in several equations and therefore it is intellectually satisfying to see that scholarship in India is increasingly dedicated to looking more closely at all facets of China. As a nation, we should encourage more efforts to accelerate this intellectual drive to understand China.

4. I personally have had an almost three decades-old relationship with China, both in our Foreign Office while handling relations with China and thereafter when I was privileged to represent my country as India’s

Ambassador to China. In this period, I have witnessed the transformation that economic growth and development have helped to achieve in both countries. I made my first trip to China in the company of an Indian film delegation in the spring of 1986. We travelled to Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Guangzhou. City streets swarmed with people on bicycles, and we flew in to the various places on our itinerary within China in planes that seemed ancient compared to what we had in India. There were no luxury hotels worth speaking of although economic reform had become the buzz-word. The countryside had begun to be magnetized by town and village enterprises which were elevating living standards among farmers and peasants. The trip had receded into the recesses of my memory until I saw a photograph in a recent publication of China Radio International which showed two young women – the actor Shabana Azmi and myself - standing outside a palace in the Forbidden City on a rather blustery spring day in 1986! That first trip was followed by many more, the most significant such visit being when I was a member of the official delegation that accompanied Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to China in December 1988. That visit made a historic and crucially important contribution to the transformation of the India-China relationship.

5. China’s rapid economic growth over the last three decades has been spectacular and riveting. It is now the second largest economy in the world with a GDP of roughly USD 5.5 trillion. Its people, particularly the youth, seem focused on improving their living standards in the quest for a prosperous future, and politics does not define their everyday. China has begun to deal in the currency of global power, and its economic success is impacting its foreign, defence and security policies. The appellation of assertiveness is frequently applied to China’s profile in global affairs today. The question that I am always asked is whether our relationship with China will be one dominated by increasing competition for influence and for resources as our economic needs grow. I believe that neither of us has the luxury of seeing each other in antagonistic terms. The view that India and China are rivals to me is an over-generalization as well as oversimplification of a complex relationship which encompasses so many diverse issues. I believe the proposition of competition and rivalry should not be exaggerated in a manner that it overshadows our genuine attempts to manage and transact a rationally determined relationship between India and China. The reality is that India and China have worked hard over the last two decades to enhance dialogue in a number of fields and we must maintain and build on that trend.

6. It is true that divergences persist. There is no denying the fact that we have a disputed border. There are legacies as well as lessons bequeathed to us by history. This is a complex problem and the cartographies that define national identity are internalized in the minds of people in both countries. At the same time we are making a serious attempt at trying to arrive at a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question as the recent fourteenth round of the Special Representatives talks will testify. The absence of a solution to the question is not due to lack of efforts but arises from the difficulty of the question, as any analyst in the audience can well appreciate.

7. What also needs to be appreciated is that the India-China boundary is one of the most peaceful of all borders. We have in place a well organized set of measures or what we call confidence building measures or CBMs to ensure peace and tranquility on the border. We are currently talking to each other on establishing more such mechanisms. There is maturity on both sides to understand the complexity of the issue and to insulate it from affecting our broader relationship. This policy on both sides I think has paid dividends and has contributed towards reducing the possibility of conflict. The dividend from this policy can be seen in other areas of our relationship.

8. Another issue of concern is the management of trans-border rivers. Many of the rivers nourishing the plains of Northern India and also areas in North-east India arise in the highlands of the Tibetan Autonomous Region and are a source of livelihood and sustenance for millions of our people. We are alert to reports of China damming trans-border rivers and have sought assurances from China that it will take no action to negatively affect the flow of the rivers into India, and so that our rights as the lower riparian are not adversely affected. China has assured us that the projects on the Bramhaputra are run-of-the-river projects and are not meant for storing or diverting water. We look forward to working closely with China in this critical area of environmental and livelihood security.

9. There is then the question of the China-Pakistan relationship. India firmly believes that a stable and prosperous Pakistan is in India’s interest, and we are not against Pakistan’s relations with other countries. While I agree that relationships between countries are not zero-sum games, we do not hesitate to stress our genuine concerns regarding some aspects of the China-Pakistan relationship particularly when it comes to China’s role in POK, China’s J&K policy and the Sino-Pak security and nuclear relationship. The need for mutual sensitivity to each other’s concerns cannot be denied. The issue of giving stapled visas to Indian nationals from the state of Jammu and Kashmir arises in a similar context. We believe that the India-China relationship will grow even stronger as China shows more sensitivity on core issues that impinge on our sovereignty and territorial integrity. We hope this can be realized.

10. Our trade with China is growing faster than that with any other country and China is our largest trading partner in goods with trade likely to exceed US$ 60 billion this year. There is also serious discussion between the two countries on correcting the trade imbalance and we would like to see more Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. Many Chinese companies are now well established in India and many Indian companies are also opening up in China. We in India have also worked to resolve hurdles that have sometimes been faced by Chinese companies to ensure a level playing field for all foreign investors. We also expect similar access to Chinese markets especially in the area of pharmaceuticals, IT, engineering goods, where our companies have often faced non-tariff and opaque barriers. Our bilateral investment relationship is also steadily growing. India is one of China’s largest markets for project contracting. India needs an investment of US $ 1 trillion during the next Five-Year Plan period in infrastructure. China is well positioned to participate in this process.

11. The results of our policy of engagement are manifest in many areas and are not limited to bilateral trade and investment alone. Over 7,000 Indian students study in China, and the CBSE is set to introduce Chinese in the curriculum of schools from the next academic session. India and China cooperate in multilateral forums and on global issues. We have established a practice of regular leadership visits and meetings that has resulted in high level political understanding and impetus for the relationship. This now sets the stage for us to actively consider together the next steps in the evolution of our bilateral relations; evolve a detailed framework for the resolution of the boundary issue in a manner that is politically feasible for both countries; and, seize the opportunities for cooperation that the domestic transformations of our economies and the evolving global situation have opened up. There is also an information gap that keeps our peoples from understanding each other better and which we need to bridge by concerted public diplomacy from both sides. There is much work to be done to improve perceptions within the media in both countries. Larger numbers of tourists need to be encouraged as also students and teachers.

12. The global trend towards multi-polarity and a more even distribution of power has been accelerated by the recent global economic crisis. While the immediate financial aspects of the crisis may have been addressed, its structural causes in terms of global imbalances remain unsolved. This provides an opportunity to India and China to work together on global issues. Our participation and consultations within the G-20 have shown the way in this regard. Similarly, we have partnered well in BASIC (for the climate change negotiations), and in the BRIC grouping of Brazil, India, Russia and China. We hope such cooperation will also be strengthened on the important issue of UN Reform and that we will be able to build common ground on the issue relating to the expansion of the Security Council and India’s interest in permanent membership. The two countries share common positions and approaches on several major international issues of long-term significance such as the environment and climate change, energy security, food security, reform of the global financial institutions, etc. In the immediate region in which both countries are located, Asia, as well, there is common ground between India and China on combating terrorism and extremism, enhancing maritime security, and on the need for a peaceful environment to permit the domestic economic growth and development of the two countries. An open, balanced and inclusive architecture to enable a transparent dialogue on these issues that concern security and stability in Asia is in the interest of both our countries.

13. As India and China continue to pursue their interests, and so long as their overwhelming preoccupation remains their domestic transformation, and both understand that this goal requires a peaceful periphery, it is my firm conviction that the elements of competition in the bilateral relationship can be managed and the elements of congruence can be built upon. As our interests get progressively more complex, the costs of any withdrawal from engagement will rise. I believe this is a big relationship with the clear possibility of an ambitious agenda of mutual engagement that will be one of the most important bilateral equations of our new century. It is in our interest to view it in a more wide-angled and high definition manner than ever before.

***

Perils of becoming a republic of scandals

" Corruption stalls development, undermines social progress, undercuts the confidence of citizens in the fairness and impartiality of public administration, impedes good governance, erodes the rule of law, distorts competitive conditions in business transactions, discourages domestic and foreign investment, fosters a black market economy, and raises new security threats. In sum, corruption obstructs a country from realising its goals and undercuts national security."


Brahma Chellaney

India’s situation is best explained by an ancient proverb, “A fish rots from the head down.” When the head is putrid, the body politic cannot be healthy. And when those at the helm remain wedded to grand corruption, clerks or traffic police cannot be singled out for taking small bribes.

Corruption, No. 1 national security threat, is eating into the vitals of the state, enfeebling internal security and crimping foreign policy.

India confronts several pressing national security threats. But only one of them - political corruption - poses an existential threat to the state, which in reality has degenerated into a republic of mega-scandals. The pervasive misuse of public office for private gain is an evil, eating into the vitals of the state, sapping India’s strength. When important decisions, from arms procurement to policy changes, are often tainted by corrupt considerations, it is inevitable that national security will get compromised. If India today is widely seen as a soft state, much of the blame must be pinned on the corrupt and the compromised that lead it. Such ‘softening’ of India has made the country a tempting target for those seeking to undermine its security.

India’s situation is best explained by an ancient proverb, “A fish rots from the head down.” When the head is putrid, the body politic cannot be healthy. And when those at the helm remain wedded to grand corruption, clerks or traffic police cannot be singled out for taking small bribes. In fact, it is the self-perpetuating cycle of corruption at all government levels - federal, State and local - that has turned internal security into India’s Achilles heel. As the then Chief Justice of India pointed out last year, the plastic explosives employed in the deadly 1993 Mumbai bombings had been smuggled into the country due to local corrupt practices.

But it is the institutionalised corruption in high office that is eviscerating the republic. When domestic policy is seriously stained by corruption, foreign policy can hardly be dynamic and proactive.

Such is the weakening of the state that India did a better job warding off regional security threats when it was economically weak - like during Indira Gandhi’s reign - than it is able to do today, despite nearly two decades of impressive GDP growth. Economic liberalisation, paradoxically, has whetted personal greed and brought in an era of big-bucks corruption, even as a system of arbitrary environmental stoppages and clearances has taken the place of the old “licence-permit raj.”

India now is witnessing not mere corruption but national plunder. The consequence is that it is getting feebler institutionally. Yet scandals remain so recurrent that public ire over any malfeasance is short-lived.

Indeed, one strategy often employed to ease public anger over revelations of a new mega-scandal is to start targeting second-tier corruption selectively. The misuse of government agencies remains rampant.

Corruption scandals now actually resemble television soaps, with engrossing but diversionary plots. To deflect public attention, the focus in the immediate aftermath is always on government processes related to probing a scandal, not on opening judicial paths to identify the real beneficiaries and quickly recover the loot. The latest scandal over the government’s allotment of second-generation telecom spectrum in 2008 falls in the same category, although the putative loss to the national treasury has been estimated at $39 billion, or 14.3 per cent of India’s total current external debt. The sheer scale of this kickback scandal indicates that multiple political interests must have had a hand in the till. If there is any good news, it is the belated appointment of a clean professional as Telecom Minister.

Make no mistake: The spiriting away of billions of dollars to international financial safe havens constitutes more than criminal wrongdoing. When economic contracts are signed or policy decisions taken so as to net handsome kickbacks, it constitutes a flagrant assault on the national interest. India ranks among the top countries whose stolen national wealth is stashed away in Swiss bank accounts. Yet no Indian politician has ever been convicted and hanged for waging such war on the state.

Let’s be clear: Corruption stalls development, undermines social progress, undercuts the confidence of citizens in the fairness and impartiality of public administration, impedes good governance, erodes the rule of law, distorts competitive conditions in business transactions, discourages domestic and foreign investment, fosters a black market economy, and raises new security threats. In sum, corruption obstructs a country from realising its goals and undercuts national security.

The cancer of corruption in Indiahas alarmingly spread to elements within the two institutions that are central to the country’s future - the judiciary and the armed forces. Recent revelations have highlighted the deep corporate penetration of the major political parties and the manner big business influences policymaking and media coverage. The rot in the media - the nation’s supposed watchdog - stands exposed. In fact, even the integrity of the national Padma awards has been badly vitiated.

But nothing illustrates the corrosive effects of the culture of corruption better than the palpable decay of state capacity. India’s economic dynamism is rooted in its private sector-led growth. But in stark contrast to China, India does poorly wherever the state is involved. The deterioration of the state is the principal constraint on India’s ability to secure its interests. That underscores the national-security costs of widespread corruption.

Today, a self-advertised “incredible India” has no articulated national security strategy, or a defined defence policy, or a declared counterterrorism doctrine, yet it is the only large country dependent on other powers to meet basic defence needs. Instead of seeking to build a first-rate military with strategic reach and an independent deterrent, India has allowed itself to become a money-spinning dumping ground for weapons it can do without. As a result, India has emerged as the world’s top arms importer in the past decade, even as its capacity to decisively win a war erodes.

The defence of India indeed has turned into an unending scandal. Even indictments by the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) have made little difference to the manner arms continue to be procured from overseas. Such imports, often clinched without transparency or open bidding, are a major source of political corruption. India shows that the more corrupt a system, the greater will be will be its corrupting power. A corrupt system quickly corrupts those who enter it, fixating them on the lure of kickbacks and on amassing pelf. Such metastasising corruption cannot be controlled simply by public funding of political parties. After all, much of the big-bucks corruption is designed to line one’s pocket, with no seeming limit to personal greed. In fact, the series of scandals during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government - from bribery-influenced arms imports and $1-billion urea contract with Oman to the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars to the state in allowing private mobile telephone operators to shift from fixed licence fees to revenue sharing - served as a reminder of the growing concentration of powers in a few hands and the consequent disdain for integrated, holistic policymaking.

As in other national security challenges, the principal causes of rampant corruption are leadership deficit and governance deficit. The only way corruption can be contained is through integrity of leadership; improved governance; measures to ensure fiscal transparency; strengthened anti-bribery enforcement; government accountability; and active public involvement. The independence of investigating agencies is a prerequisite for developing an anti-corruption culture in politics and business. Yet in India, these agencies are controlled by those whom they are supposed to keep in check or investigate when a scandal unfolds. Even the vigilance system lacks autonomy and is open to manipulation. With corruption, nepotism and cronyism now endemic, Indian politics has become the safe, fast track to wealth. India freed itself from British colonialism only to come in the grip of an indigenous political class ruling the country on colonial-style principles and still functioning from colonial-era structures. It may take a second war of independence for India to gain true freedom from exploitation and pillage.

(Brahma Chellaney is the author, most recently, of Asian Juggernaut - HarperCollins USA, 2010.)

source;thehindu

Sikkim skywalk project in limbo

Updated on Sunday, December 05, 2010, 09:51

New Delhi: The fate of the giant Skywalk proposed at Baleydunga peak in the south of Sikkim hangs in balance with the Environment Ministry refusing to divert a patch of forest land from a sanctuary for the project.

The ambitious project costing Rs 500 crore involves construction of three finger-shaped skywalks, or glass bridges protruding from the Baleydunga cliff at an elevation of 10,102 feet and connected through a tunnel.


The project proponent, Sikkim Tourism, had approached Environment Ministry's steering committee of the National Board of Wildlife for diversion of six hectares of forest land from Maenam Wildlife Sanctuary for survey and investigation for construction of the project.

The iconic structure is expected to propel Sikkim into the global tourism map besides becoming a landmark of its own in the Himalayan state.

Besides Skywalk, the Tourism Department has also proposed creation of allied supporting infrastructure like cable car, tourist complex, accommodation centre, nature and spiritual complex and other tourism amenities in the cliff, Yangang and Dhapar areas.


The survey was meant to find out whether the proposed site can support the creation of such structure as at present there is only one similar skywalk in the world -- at the Grand Canyon in Arizona near the Colorado river in the US.

However, in a recent meeting the Committee did not find "merit in the proposal from the point of view of wildlife conservation in the sanctuary which is a notified protected area.

"It was also opined that the proposal was not site-specific. In view of these suggestions, the Committee decided to reject the proposal," sources said.

source:PTI

SIKKIM STUDENT DESIGN ECO FRIENDLY CAR

Gangtok, Sikkim: A class XI science department student of Jawaharlal Navodya Vidhlaya at Rabong in South Sikkim has made a design of an eco-friendly vehicle which works on the principle of electromagnetic induction magnetism (EMIM).

Seventeen-year-old Deepak Gupta developed the design to prevent emission of harmful gases.

"I worked hard for four years for the design which is eco-friendly because instead of emitting harmful gases, the car produces nothing," he told PTI.

Explaining his design, he said that the design has one system in the gear. "By pressing the buttons of the vehicle, one can increase or decrease the speed of the vehicle. With the help of the batteries, we start the dynamo which shall charge the electromagnetic induction motor which gives energy to the vehicle," he said.

source: Mint

KUALA LUMPUR, December 5, 2010

India's Nicole Faria is Miss Earth 2010

PTI

 

AFP WINNERS ALL: Newly-crowned Miss Earth Talent 2010 Nicole Faria (second left) of India poses with Miss Earth Air Jennifer Pazmino (left) from Ecuador, Miss Earth Water Watsaporn Wattanakoon (second right) from Thailand and Miss Earth Fire Yeidy Bosquez of Puerto Rico, during the final of the Miss Earth 2010 contest held in the Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam on Saturday.

Event raised 100 million Vietnamese Dong for flood victims

India's Nicole Faria has been crowned Miss Earth Talent 2010 after beating 17 other contestants at a talent competition in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

Ms. Faria, a 20-year-old girl from Bangalore, won the title at the talent show with a scintillating belly dance that combines Oriental and Middle Eastern styles.

We are ecstatic: father

“We are ecstatic and overjoyed although we expected it,” Ms. Faria's father Ian said in Bangalore.

The event raised 100 million Vietnamese Dong, which will be transferred to the local Red Cross to support flood victims in the central region of Vietnam.

Vietnam's representative Luu Thi Diem Huong was voted among the top five contestants with her performance of folk dances that are inspired by traditional dances in the northern, central and southern region of the country.

Source: The WSJ

The fifth edition of Indo-China trade through Nathula border closed for the season recording absolute zero import this year on 30th November.

135 Chinese traders reached Sherathang Trade Mart near Nathu-La in the morning of 30th whereas from the Indian side, only 25 traders crossed the border. The export business was worth rupees 98, 53, 700. However the import was zero. The trade that commenced on 5th of May this year faced several teething problems in the beginning. This year’s business, despite picking up late, recorded yet another increase in the exports from this side of the border over the preceding years. As per the official record this year the recorded export business is Rs 4, 0254, 107.

District Collectorate (East) Mr. D Anandan, Director of Commerce and Industries Department, Mr KK Kafley and the Deputy Secretaries, Ms Sumita Pradhan and Ms Cheden Bhutia along with other officials visited the Mart on the last day. China’s In-charge of Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) Ms Kesang Diki while interacting with the media persons said that the reason for zero import is due to the non feasible list of items.

She completely expressed her dissatisfaction over the import list of items. She requested the Indian Government to take the matter of revising list of items on priority basis in order to have a good import value and also demanded to make the import list of items at par with the export item. While interacting with the officials she also expressed happiness over the goodwill gesture and expected revision of trading list by next year.

However the traders in Mart were seen selling the unlisted items. When asked to the custom SP, Mr TW Sherpa he said that it is very difficult for them to manage the border with only two staffs. He also anticipated more co-operation from the State Government.

DC while talking with press said that this year over 300 trade passes were issued from the DC office. He also expressed his happiness on the export growth. “Our main intention was to meet the Chinese traders at Rinquengang and to thank them for their support this season. We did not take much items today,” said one of the traders over the phone. Canned food, utensils, textiles, copper items, vegetable oil, tea, cigarette, coffee, misri, and blankets have been the most popular export items. The sixth edition of the border trade next year is expected to commence from 1st of May 2011.

Courtesy: Sikkim Mail

We need an ambitious agenda for engagement

Nirupama Rao  

AP Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the 5th East Asia Summit in Ha Noi, Vietnam. File photo

The view that India and China are rivals is an over-generalisation and over-simplification of a complex relationship.

This year saw India and China celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. A couple of weeks from now, Premier Wen Jiabao will be in India and will participate in the closing ceremony of the Festival of China in India which will bring to a close the calendar of activities organised in both China and India to commemorate this occasion.

The six decades of the India-China relationship behind us have a record that is chequered. We became arbiters of our national destinies from the date of India's independence and China's liberation in the late 40s of the last century, inspiring many others in Asia and Africa to end colonialism and foreign domination. This was the time when India and China in a sense, rediscovered each other, understanding the potential of the synergy between two of the largest populated nations in the world on the global stage. The vision of our founding fathers is within our reach today as we regain our place in Asia and the world as leading global economies. The awareness of historical contact between the two peoples of India and China created the basis for our well-intentioned attempt in the 1950s to build a new type of relationship based on Panchasheela, or the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. It was an attempt which, however, faltered, telescoping into the troubled phase that enveloped our relationship in the sixties up until the mid seventies.

The leadership in both our countries understood the untenability of any sustained estrangement between us. The last three decades have been marked by well-intentioned efforts of exploration towards establishing the framework of a stable, peaceful, productive, and multi-sectoral relationship between India and China. Contradictions are sought to be managed, and our differences have not prevented an expanding bilateral engagement and building on congruence. There are elements of cooperation and competition that form the warp and weft of our relationship.

There are both challenges that the relationship confronts us with and also opportunities. As our Prime Minister has said, India and China will continue to grow, simultaneously, and our policies will have to cater to this emerging reality. For India, the situation is complex since China is not only our largest neighbour but also because China is today a major power in the world both from the traditional geo-political point of view and the more current geo-economic point of view. In the world of today, China is a factor in several equations and, therefore, it is intellectually satisfying to see that scholarship in India is increasingly dedicated to looking more closely at all facets of China.

China's rapid economic growth over the last three decades has been spectacular and riveting. It is now the second largest economy in the world with a GDP of roughly $5.5 trillion. China has begun to deal in the currency of global power, and its economic success is impacting its foreign, defence and security policies. The appellation of assertiveness is frequently applied to China's profile in global affairs today. The question that I am always asked is whether our relationship with China will be one dominated by increasing competition for influence and resources, as our economic needs grow. I believe that neither of us has the luxury of seeing each other in antagonistic terms. The view that India and China are rivals is an over-generalisation and over-simplification of a complex relationship which encompasses so many diverse issues. I believe the proposition of competition and rivalry should not be exaggerated in a manner that it overshadows our genuine attempts to manage and transact a rationally determined relationship.

It is true that divergences persist. We have a disputed border. There are legacies as well as lessons bequeathed to us by history. This is a complex problem and the cartographies that define national identity are internalised in the minds of people in both countries. At the same time, we are making a serious attempt at trying to arrive at a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question as the recent 14th round of the Special Representatives talks will testify. The absence of a solution to the question is not due to lack of efforts but arises from the difficulty of the question.

What also needs to be appreciated is that the India-China boundary is one of the most peaceful of all borders. We have in place a well organised set of confidence building measures to ensure peace and tranquillity on the border. We are currently talking to each other on establishing more such mechanisms. There is maturity on both sides to understand the complexity of the issue and to insulate it from affecting our broader relationship. This policy on both sides I think has paid dividends and has contributed towards reducing the possibility of conflict.

Another issue of concern is the management of trans-border rivers. Many of the rivers nourishing the plains of Northern India and also areas in North-east India arise in the highlands of the Tibetan Autonomous Region and are a source of livelihood and sustenance for millions of our people. We are alert to reports of China damming trans-border rivers and have sought assurances from China that it will take no action to negatively affect the flow of the rivers into India, so that our rights as the lower riparian are not adversely affected. China has assured us that the projects on the Bramhaputra are run-of-the-river projects and are not meant for storing or diverting water. We look forward to working closely with China in this critical area of environmental and livelihood security.

There is, then, the question of the China-Pakistan relationship. India firmly believes that a stable and prosperous Pakistan is in India's interest, and we are not against Pakistan's relations with other countries. While I agree that relationships between countries are not zero-sum games, we do not hesitate to stress our genuine concerns regarding some aspects of the China-Pakistan relationship particularly when it comes to China's role in PoK, China's J&K policy and the Sino-Pak security and nuclear relationship. The need for mutual sensitivity to each other's concerns cannot be denied. The issue of giving stapled visas to Indian nationals from the state of Jammu and Kashmir arises in a similar context. We believe that the India-China relationship will grow even stronger as China shows more sensitivity on core issues that impinge on our sovereignty and territorial integrity. We hope this can be realised.

Our trade with China is growing faster than that with any other country and China is our largest trading partner in goods with trade likely to exceed US$ 60 billion this year. There is also serious discussion between the two countries on correcting the trade imbalance and we would like to see more Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. Many Chinese companies are now well established in India and many Indian companies are also opening up in China. We in India have also worked to resolve hurdles that have sometimes been faced by Chinese companies to ensure a level playing field for all foreign investors. We also expect similar access to Chinese markets especially in the area of pharmaceuticals, IT, engineering goods, where our companies have often faced non-tariff and opaque barriers. India is one of China's largest markets for project contracting. India needs an investment of US $ 1 trillion during the next Five-Year Plan period in infrastructure. China is well positioned to participate in this process.

The results of our policy of engagement are manifest in many areas and are not limited to bilateral trade and investment alone. Over 7,000 Indian students study in China, and the CBSE is set to introduce Chinese in the curriculum of schools from the next academic session. There is also an information gap that keeps our peoples from understanding each other better and which we need to bridge by concerted public diplomacy from both sides. There is much work to be done to improve perceptions within the media in both countries.

The global trend towards multi-polarity and a more even distribution of power has been accelerated by the recent global economic crisis. While the immediate financial aspects of the crisis may have been addressed, its structural causes in terms of global imbalances remain unsolved. This provides an opportunity to India and China to work together. Our consultations within the G-20 have shown the way in this regard. Similarly, we have partnered well in BASIC (for the climate change negotiations), and in the BRIC grouping of Brazil, India, Russia and China. We hope such cooperation will also be strengthened on the important issue of UN Reform and that we will be able to build common ground on the issue relating to the expansion of the Security Council and India's interest in permanent membership. In the immediate region in which both countries are located, Asia, as well, there is common ground between India and China on combating terrorism and extremism, enhancing maritime security, and on the need for a peaceful environment to permit the domestic economic growth and development of the two countries. An open, balanced and inclusive architecture to enable a transparent dialogue on these issues that concern security and stability in Asia is in the interest of both our countries.

As India and China continue to pursue their interests, and so long as their overwhelming preoccupation remains their domestic transformation, and both understand that this goal requires a peaceful periphery, it is my firm conviction that the elements of competition in the bilateral relationship can be managed and the elements of congruence can be built upon. As our interests get progressively more complex, the costs of any withdrawal from engagement will rise. I believe this is a big relationship with the clear possibility of an ambitious agenda of mutual engagement that will be one of the most important bilateral equations of our new century. It is in our interest to view it in a more wide-angled and high definition manner than ever before.

(The author is the Foreign Secretary of India. This is an edited version of a speech she delivered to the Observer Research Foundation on December 3.)

source.the hindu

PERSONALITY: Anuradha as I know her

sourceBarun Roy 

FROM MYREPUBLICA.COM

BY PETER J KARTHAK

I had been planning to write this story, and my pending plan rushed me when I read the weekly “Kopila” of the Kantipur daily of Sunday, November 28. In it, Suraj Kunwar writes that Ranjit Gazmer and I had opened a school called Amar Adarsha in Baneshwor, and Anuradha Koirala came to Kathmandu to join the team. This is fictional journalism, and the “kopila” readers of the weekzine can be misled.

Had the two of us operated this imagined school, I wouldn’t still be working as a copyeditor in Kathmandu and Ranjit wouldn’t have immigrated to Bombay, now Mumbai. Hence, I must write the true story. What I write herein are mostly pickings from my already previously published columns, and I add a few more points in the second part, as the true occasion for writing this particular piece warrants.

Anuradha Gurung in Darjeeling

At Mr. Amber Gurung’s Art Academy of Music in Darjeeling, there was Ajay Gurung as a member who was an excellent tabla player, second only to another member, Ranjit Gazmer. This was in the winter of 1961/62, and the other musicians were Karma and Gopal Yonzon, Sharan Pradhan, Indra Thapalia (Amber’s miitjyu), Aruna Lama, Lalit Tamang, Jitendra Bardewa, Indra Gazmer, Puru Subba, and others – including this writer.

Another Gurung was Abhay (recently departed) who shone for many years as a national footballer in India, Sikkim, Bhutan, and Nepal. In Kathmandu, he was a guru to many national kickers and dribblers and played for many clubs.

These were Anuradha’s older brothers. Since Ajay was a fellow musician at the Academy, I visited his Toong Soong cottage where Colonel and Mrs. Gurung had deposited their six or seven brats to give them a permanent moor in life and save them the military transfers their soldier father had been subject to, as the Indian Army required.

Anuradha and her younger sister were kids to us, and they had nothing to do with our serious business – music. Anuradha was a hockey schoolgirl at Loreto Convent, and we saw her in town in her school uniform, with a hockey stick. And that was that.

In Birgunj

I graduated from college in late 1966, and I had ten months to decide my future course of actions. As people of Darjeeling fled its gloomy and misty winter, an annual event, I was visited by Phurba Tshering – a member of The Hillians whom I led. He asked me to accompany him to Birgunj in Nepal to help manage a new “English medium” school. Ranjit Gazmer also joined us. Phurba had already joined the school, so we were in good hands. So off we went, traveling mostly on railway through India – Siliguri, Galgaliya, Sugauli, Barauni and then Raxaul to enter Nepal at Birgunj. The school was in a rural flatland called Itiyahi, some dusty kilometers away from Birgunj town. When we reached our destination in the evening, I saw, to my surprise, Anuradha Gurung who already was a teacher at the school. Thus began our lifelong relationship.

In our time in Nehruvian India, Vande Mataram was having its renaissance, and everything else was “phoren” and anti-nationalistic, including the proven Cambridge education system. The opposite was happening in Nepal, and the craze for modern education continues to this day, forty-four years later. Teachers from outside Nepal, including the Northeast Hills, were hot malpuwas then, as is the case even today. We worked as choice teachers at the Itiyahi Durbar School, promoted by one Badgami Sahu.

Then something happened which, in retrospection now, was fateful in our lives, especially for Anuradha and me, the two players out of seven members in our group. We two still find ourselves in Kathmandu when more than four decades have elapsed since we arrived here.

It happened this way: When our second batch of teachers arrived in Birgunj, the Nepali Rupee had devalued against the Indian Rupee by 135:100. Previously, it had stood at NRs 101 for IRs 100. Now, there was a deficit of Rs 34, and we from India would lose by 34% in our salary. The new decision was taken by Surya Bahadur Thapa, the new prime minister of Nepal.

We negotiated with Sahu Badgami. Since I had assumed leadership of the Darjeeling group of teachers, I argued with him that our salary should be paid at the new rate in Nepali Rupees as we were Indian/foreign “imports” to Nepal. Badgami would not budge. I banged the table; he banged it even louder – it was his property, after all. It was eight in the evening when the powwow failed. Ranjit and I were drawing our first salary but Anuradha and others, who had joined the school months ago, were the greater losers. So we decided to leave the school and left late at night. There were six teachers and a kid in our group, and this was a mass desertion at one go. But since Badgami stood his greedy grounds, whatever happened to the school was his responsibility.

Badgami did another unethical thing. He charged us for our lodging and food and deducted the amounts from our salary. We avenged ourselves by spending our last night in Birgunj in Badgami’s comfortable hotel, had our sumptuous dinner at his restaurant and stuffed ourselves from his department store. His staff obliged us with the credits because we were their boss’s fabled schoolteachers from Darjeeling. We left Birgunj the next morning in Yangji Sherpa Didi’s Volkswagen minibus. We met her by chance in town, and we crashed onto the empty seats. That’s how we reached Kathmandu. Anuradha was sick and threw up at many bends of the serpentine Tribhuvan Rajpath. I don’t know how her motion sickness is these days. She also had inflamed tonsils and it gave her much trouble.

It’s a long story, but suffice it to say that we still owe Yangji Didi Rs. 28 for our ride in her vehicle. She passed away some years ago, and the due is still unpaid.

My brief memories of Birgunj are both sad and happy. I lost my beloved Bowie knife while leaving the school at night. The happy memories are of bagedi snacks downed with dudhiya in town. One special occasion was a concert held by Gopal Yonzon and Dil Maya Khati in Birgunj, and Ranjit, Phurba and I helped the musical evening with our own songs and instrumental backup.

In Kathmandu

That’s what fate is all about, I think. The devaluation was one thing, but what it caused to us is unexplainable. We were right, and Badgami was wrong; but he wasn’t responsible for what happened, either: It wasn’t in the agreement, or was there such a clause for an unforeseen turn of events? Nobody was wrong, or right, either. What Surya Bahadur Thapa’s decision caused is beyond even Kafka’s post-modernism.

There was another hitch in our journey to Kathmandu. We soon found out that except for Anuradha and me, everybody was flat broke. Why? We had lived in Nehru’s India where he stifled and asphyxiated and atrophied the Indians’ dreams. So when our other members saw Badgami’s department store laden with Max Factor makeup kits, Kirin and Sapporo beer from Japan and British and American cigarette brands, they overspent and drew credits beyond their means. Badgami duly exacted the arrears from their salaries before we left his school, and we found ourselves in dire straits in Kathmandu. I had Rs 700 and Anuradha perhaps Rs. 1,000. With that, we began our lives in this senile, strange, unfriendly, suspicious and crumbling city – its Hanuman Dhoka complex slanted all over to match the drugged swaying of Hippies all along the nearby Jhhochhen, better known as the Freak Street.

First, we welcomed ourselves to Renchin’s flat at Fasikew near Ranjana Cinema. “Baby” Renchin – the future Mrs. Gopal Yonzon – hosted the seven of us for three days and nights.

Then, as fate would have it, we met two strangers of our own age. Shambhu Poudel – now a big shot of Kathmandu – and his friend Rimal showed us an apartment in Dilli Bazaar, and the seven of us lived in it. The terrace was our kitchen. Phurba and I got jobs at the newly planned Casino Nepal as trainees while Anuradha, Ranjit and we were taken in as teachers by Basant Bahadur Shrestha at his New Model English School at Baneshwor. Soon, Anuradha lived at the school hostel as housemother; this led to her becoming Mrs. Koirala later, and the seeds of Maiti Nepal were sown during this time. Ranjit became Amber Gurung’s assistant at the Royal Nepal Academy. Phurba and I were confirmed croupiers at the casino and we relocated to Basantpur. I stopped teaching and joined Tribhuvan University for my Masters in English while Ranjit, Phurba and I became hotshot studio musicians at Radio Nepal. These are the gist of the adjustments we made for ourselves in the silly city called Kathmandu.

Why didn’t we give up in Birgunj itself and go back to where we came from, eh? Well, I, for one, wouldn’t go back after merely two months of my misadventure there. Badgami Sahu and Surya Bahadur Thapa had composed our battle cry: “Kathmandu, or bust!” Also, as a reverse Lahurey, I wouldn’t go back without money, materials and medals. Eventually, five of the original group left Kathmandu anyway, and only Anuradha and I remain in Kathmandu today. But, even at best, we’re irredents here, our native lands being overtaken by others; and as reverse migrants, Kathmandu has been our new Muglan.

Maiti, a dreadful word in Nepal

Hereupon, I have my new observations which I didn’t make before. But these thoughts find their rightful place in this concluding part of my heartfelt write-up.

I’ve never been to Maiti Nepal at Til Ganga. The Nepali word “maiti” scares me in this story’s connotation, and I’ve never had the guts to see how Anuradha was doing there. I have my own distressful reasons for this:

Firstly, the word “Maiti” has the prefixes of “ma” and “mai,” the former denoting mother and the other meaning mother goddess. Maiti is the parental house of a “cheli,” the female of the family. But in the name of the mother and daughters, the family is dominated by males, the father and his sons, who marry off their young females as soon as possible. The only psychologically reassuring recourse being, if abused by her husband, a cheli can always look back to her maiti for rightful action and justice on her behalf. But the truth lies somewhere far away: Once the cheli is married off, she’s left to her own device. “Look, you’re no more ours; so fend for yourself, la?”

This, among other causes, births Anuradha’s Maiti Nepal, as a shameful reminder to Nepali males of their impotence and inadequacy.

Secondly, Nepal and the Nepali world outside it are rare on the Earth for having males who are internationally known as brave, unselfish, chivalrous and valorous. As the snow leopards of the Himalaya, the Sherpas have carried climbers to the summits of Mount Everest and other tallest peaks of the world. The dreaded Gurkhas/Gorkhas, belonging to some six martial ethnic Nepali nationalities, need no further mention except uttering their common identity makes the enemy wobble and wet his pants. The Newars are renowned for their indomitable trans-Himalayan and risky cross-Terai commerce and industries while their fellowmen at home built the classical durbar squares of the Kathmandu Valley and spread their architectural marvels all over Asia.

What’s gone wrong, then? Well, these are unsung heroes in their own lands, for one thing. Moreover, the enemies are within who sell, smuggle and traffic their own neighbors’ girls, if not their own. Abuse is aplenty in the Nepali society. Otherwise, why would Samrat Upadhyay describe in his short story the fellatio administered by the daughter-in-law to her father-in-law? Manjushree Thapa’s novel mentions its female character being once raped by her paternal uncle, yet she visits him every Dashain to receive his tika.

What ironies on Nepali males who so effortlessly victimize their own helpless, weaker and silent lambs? Over and above, Nepali men can’t even look after their women, much less protect their virtues.

That’s why Maiti Nepal is a half-house for despair to be turned into hope, victims near death to be nurtured to survival, the doomed to be given assurance, desperate to receive rehabilitation and resolve, helping sufferers to regain their loss of minds and means.

It was not easy for Anuradha, especially when external interferences were also imposed on her operations. An example is the “accountant” wife of a British envoy who wanted to supervise the funds received from Prince Charles who sold some of his paintings to raise money specifically earmarked for Maiti Nepal. Anuradha refused to accept the unnecessary precondition, and the other party had to eventually give in. She also refused funds from some international organizations because of their fiduciary stipulations, and again she was victorious when the peace pipe was offered from the other sides.

Vote of thanks

That’s all on Anuradha because she and Maiti Nepal have now become world news. Except to say, she’s always Anuradha Gurung to me, and shall remain so. Perhaps a compromise would be Anuradha Gurung Koirala, and that would be ideal. She and I need to retain our ethnic tribal identities, to say the least.

Wikipedia has this on Anuradha: “In Hinduism, Anuradha is a goddess of good luck (Adrusta Devatha). Anuradha is the 17th nakshatra.”

Well, Maiti Nepal’s Anuradha has now become the First Sun Goddess for the ill-fated and destitute girls and women of Nepal.

In conclusion, while I say “Syabash! Kya Tarakki!!” to Anuradha Gurung Koirala, I also bow my head to the other nine CNN Heroes of 2010: Guadalupe Arizpe De La Vega of Juarez, Mexico; Susan Burton of California, USA; Linda Fondren of Mississippi, USA;

Narayanan Krishnan of Madurai, India; Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow of Scotland, UK; Harmon Parker of Kenya, Africa; Aki Ra of Cambodia; Evans Wadongo of Kenya, Africa; and Dan Wallrath of Texas, USA.

And grateful thanks to Mr. Anderson Cooper, and CNN, too!