EDITORIAL
OPPORTUNIST SHAH
Politics is a dirty game.
And if there was any doubt about it, it was set at rest
by GM Shah himself after his meeting with KC Pant in
Srinagar the other day. Shah and Pant need no
introduction. Former is founder of the Awami National
Conference (ANC) and former Chief Minister of Kashmir,
while the latter is the Centre’s chief negotiator on
Kashmir. Shah, who is also the brother-in-law of the
present Chief Minister, Farooq Abdullah, has also
established that a frustrated politician can be dirtier.
Shah, known to a handful of his followers as ‘Gul
Shah Baadshah’, swore by Kashmir’s accession to
India when he was installed as the Chief Minister of
J&K in 1984 after the removal of the Farooq Abdullah
Government. During his tenure as the State’s ruler,
Shah did not tolerate the talk against Kashmir’s
ties with India. For 30 years Shah was considered to be
successor to Sheikh Abdullah, his father-in-law. Always
wearing a cap and dark glasses, Shah had been waiting for
his opportunity all along. He was outwitted in 1982 when
he lost the battle to Farooq Abdullah. Since Shah was
keen to emerge on the scene as the Chief Minister, he
kept himself in close contact with close aides of the
Indian Premier. Things, happily for him, changed after
elections in Kashmir in June 1983. Shah was acceptable to
New Delhi. Why not? He had by then proved his loyalty to
the Instrument of Accession. He had but one mission-if
only he could manage 12 MLAs from the National Conference
he was assured of the chair. And he knew how to do it. He
offered every one of the 12 a chair each. His Cabinet had
a unique distinction: A 100 per cent representation and
total equality. It is a different matter that GM Shah
went the same way he came-in a blaze of controversy. The
same Governor, Jagmohan, who had ushered him in through
the backdoor, played a major role in his ouster following
rampant communal trouble in the State. No wonder, Shah
refused to chant pro-accession slogans after his removal
from the office of Chief Minister. But Shah obviously
failed to accept the fact that facts of history, which he
himself as the J&K Chief Minister had reckoned,
remain facts even after desperate attempts are made to
distort them. How many times did Shah himself declare the
"finality" of Kashmir’s accession to the
Indian Union when he was the Chief Minister of the State?
Why should he now resent the External Affairs Minister,
Jaswant Singh’s assertion that Kashmir is "an
integral part of India"? Shah’s son, Muzaffar
Shah, laboured for days together in New Delhi to persuade
KC Pant to call on the former Chief Minister (‘Gul
Shah Baadshah’) in Srinagar. Pant obliged and acted
in a dignified manner. Pant could have hit back GM Shah
when the latter let it be known that there was
practically little to talk about when Jaswant Singh had
said that Kashmir "is an integral part of
India". But Pant, in a calculated move, decided to
remain cool despite Shah’s assertion that Kashmir is
not an integral part of India. Indeed, Pant imparted an
important lesson to Shah: It is parliament’s stand
that Kashmir is an integral part of India and that, in a
democracy, Parliament is supreme. Pant is not to blame
for the unproductive talks with GM Shah. The talks were
bound to fail, as eccentric Shah had not digested Jaswant
Singh’s pro-accession standpoint. Shah’s
argument: There was no sense in holding talks when
Jaswant Singh had made the statement on Jammu and
Kashmir. If this argument were to be accepted by Gen.
Parvez Musharraf, the proposed summit between him and
Atal Behari Vajpayee would have to be called off. That
Pant wanted Shah not to forget his past became evident
when the former said in reply to a question at a news
conference in Jammu on June 1: "I do not label
people. They change with the passage of time. Somebody
who was a militant ten years ago is not the same today
and somebody who was a former Chief Minister now objects
to the statement that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral
part of India". Pant knows that his mission will
succeed only if he received required support and
cooperation from all sections in the State. It was,
precisely, in this context that, during his 6-day visit
to the Valley, Ladakh and Jammu, he deliberately made use
of expressions such as "peace is necessary for
development", "understanding", and
"creating a climate of trust and confidence to find
a agreed solution to the tangle". Pant’s use of
expression "there are people who will not tolerate
this exercise" was not without meaning and purpose.
This expression, indeed, surfaced after a significant
development in Srinagar: Expulsion of Azam Inquilabi from
the patronship and basic membership of his party,
Mahz-e-Azadi. His fault: His ‘secret’ meeting
with KC Pant without his party’s prior permission.
MUSHARRAF & CRICKET
In his stepped-up interest
in Kashmir politics and New Delhi’s perception and
policies vis-à-vis Islamabad, Gen. Parvez Musharraf
seems to have ensured that his interest in the
Indo-Pakistan cricket ties did not diminish. The very
fact that Gen. Musharraf has decided to raise the issue
of deteriorating cricket ties between the two countries
during his forthcoming meeting with Atal Behari Vajpayee
in New Delhi shows the importance of the game in the
scheme of things for India and Pakistan. According to one
school of thought, cricket always was, and still can be,
a great facilitator when it comes to improving relations
between the two traditionally hostile neighbours. The
game, unfortunately, has been allowed to be warped in the
politics of the Indo-Pak problem in recent months. So
much so that India refused to play bilateral cricket with
Pakistan, triggering a strong threat from the latter of a
total boycott of the game with India. The situation, it
can be said without any fear of contradiction, has been a
cause of concern not only to the players on both sides of
the border but also the people at large. The game of
cricket has a huge fan following in both the countries,
and is known to stir strong passions. And by this token,
it has always served as a common bond between the people
of the two countries. As much as Hindi film movies and
Pakistani plays have. The issue has now again come to the
centrestage of the relations between the two countries in
the context of the September Asia Cup Championship during
which India is scheduled to play a test in Pakistan after
two years. The announcement in this regard was promptly
hailed by lovers of the game on both the sides. However,
subsequently, doubts were raised about the test, after
Sports Minister, Ms Uma Bharati, publicly flayed the BCCI
for agreeing to play in Pakistan without taking the
Government’s permission. The BCCI went ahead with
the move in view of the earlier statements of the Indian
Government allowing the national side to play against
Pakistan in multi-nation events like the World Cup and
Asian Championships, while refusing to sanction bilateral
series between the two. Despite the Government’s
repeated attempts at explaining and clarifying its stand,
one finds it difficult to understand the reasoning behind
the whole business. Just the other day, while the
controversy over cricketing ties between the two
countries continued to rage, the Government created a
three-member Indian snooker team to take part in the
Asian amateur championships to be held in Karachi from
June 4 to 9. Recently, an Indian volleyball team played
in the Asian junior championships in Islamabad. India is
also expected to take part in the South Asian Federation
(SAF) Games being held in Pakistan in October. It is in
this context that Gen. Musharraf’s decision to take
up the issue with the Indian Prime Minister, and
hopefully sort it out once and for all, is quite welcome.
One does hope that taking a cue from the Ping Pong
diplomacy that the US and China engaged in quite
effectively at the peak of the Cold War, New Delhi and
Islamabad will also use the love for cricket among their
people to come closer to each other.
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‘Jehadi’
outfits get the jitters
By
Debdeep Chakraborty
Pakistan's
Chief Executive, General Pervez
Musharraf's acceptance of the Indian
Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee's
invitation for a summit in New Delhi, has
raised hopes for peace on both sides of
the border. The Prime Minister in his
invitation to the Chief Executive of
Pakistan has expressed his desire to
address all outstanding issues between
the two countries including the issue of
Kashmir during the summit. Pakistan has
always maintained that the core issue in
the troubled relationship between the two
countries is Kashmir. In an interview to
BBC after receiving the invitation, the
Chief Executive while making it clear
that he had no objection to discuss all
bilateral issues, stood by his country's
earlier stand that Kashmir continues to
be the main cause for the strained
relations between India and Pakistan. The
General further added that he was
"cautiously optimistic" about
the forthcoming summit.
Both the
Indian and the Pakistan Governments know
that the summit is merely a beginning and
are not expecting any immediate
breakthrough. The media in both the
countries however, has been successful in
raising the expectations of the common
man. Political parties too are backing
their respective Governments in this
latest peace initiative. Overall, people
in both the countries are relieved that
an initiative has been taken to start the
dialogue process between the two
countries. India had stopped all
bilateral talks with Pakistan after the
Kargil conflict in 1999.
However,
not everyone is happy with the prospects
of peace between India and Pakistan.
Pakistan based 'jehadi' outfits engaged
in Kashmir have reacted in panic. Their
concern is understandable, given the fact
that a peaceful settlement between the
two neighbours can threaten their very
existence. Organisations like the
Lashkar-e-Toiba and Al Badr view India's
peace initiative as a ploy to hoodwink
world opinion, and have asked General
Musharraf not to fall in to India's
'peace trap'.
Almost all
the jehadi organisations operating from
Pakistan, except the Lashkar-e-Toiba are
offshoots of two main religious parties,
the Jamaat-e-Islam (JI) and the
Jamaat-ul-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI). Both these
parties were formed primarily to control
political power in the country but later,
after experiencing electoral failures,
changed tracks. The Jamaat-e-Islami which
was founded in 1941, participated in
general elections for the first time in
1970. It was able to win only 4 seats out
of the 151 it contested. On the other
hand, the Jamait-ul-Ulema-e-Islam fared
quite well in the same elections and was
even able to form a coalition Government
in the North West Frontier Province
(NWFP). The life of this Government
however turned out to be too short after
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto sacked it. Since
then, both these parties have given up
their political aspirations.
It was in
1977 that both Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and
the Jamaat-ul-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) again
sprung back in to action. Taking
advantage of the tide against the
Pakistan People Party, they joined hands
with the then Chief of Army Staff,
General Zia Ul Haq, which then led to the
imposition of marital law in the country.
It was during this time that both the
parties experience phenomenal growth and
secured influence as well as substantial
material support through intelligence
agencies for fighting 'jihad' in
Afghanistan, which was then under Soviet
occupation. Thus began an alliance with
the military establishments, which
continues even today. Flush with foreign
funds and backing from the military, both
the JUI and JI established several
thousand madrasas across Pakistan.
Several camps were set up in the NWFP to
recruit thousands of Afghan refugees as
mujahideens to fight the Russians. The
CIA fed millions of dollars to these
camps to fight Soviet occupation in
Afghanistan. Later these mujahideens
formed the Taliban and today they control
more than 90 percent of Afghanistan.
With the
war over and the Soviets leaving
Afghanistan in the late 80's both the JUI
and the JI were faced with an identity
crisis and feared that they would again
be pushed into oblivion. It was then that
they diverted their attention to Kashmir.
While continuing to take part in the
civil war in Afghanistan, groups from
both the parties started splitting and
forming separate 'jehadi' outfits to
fight in Kashmir. The groups however
continued to maintain their allegiance to
their parent parties. While Hizbul
Mujahideen and Al Badr are splinter
groups of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), the
Harkat-Ul Ansar was born out of the
Jamiat-Ul-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI). The most
recently formed Jaish-e-Mohammed, started
by Maulana Masood Azhar after his release
by the Indian Government in December
1999, in return for the passengers of the
hijacked Indian airlines plane, too has
its roots in the JUI. Some of the other
jihadi outfits are the Sipah-e-Sahaba and
Lashkar-e-jhangvi, both owing allegiance
to Jamiat-ul-Ulema -e-Islam. The most
powerful of these outfits however, is the
Lashkar-e-Toiba was born much later in
1993 as a separate wing of the
Markaz-al-Dawa-Wal Irshad to fight in
Afghanistan, Kashmir, Kosovo and the
Philippines. The outfit is today headed
by Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, a former
University lecturer.
The
influence of the 'jihadi' outfits has
been growing rapidly over the years. It
is estimated that there are over 1,000
religiouus schools in Pakistan today. In
a recent interview to the Karachi based
newspaper, The News, the former Pakistani
Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, expressed
fear that members of these outfits may
one day be successful in creating a
parallel armed force. Another Lahore
based daily, The Nation, in one of its
articles had estimated the number of
'jehadis' operating from Pakistani soil
to be 3,00,000.
In a
recent interview to BBC, General
Musharraf said that the time is not yet
ripe for asking the 'jehadi' outfits to
stop their activities in Kashmir. But
even if the Indo-Pak talks did manage a
breakthrough in the future and General
Musharraf wanted outfits like
Lashkar-e-Toiba and Al Badr to pull back
from Kashmir, the question is whether
these outfits will heed to the
Government's appeal. Besides, there is
always a possibility of backlash from
political and religious parties that are
indirectly involved in militancy in
Kashmir in case the Government tries to
do anything forcibly. The 'jehadi'
outfits are also known to have
considerable support in the Pakistani
army as well as in the ISI. Any move
against these outfits will be met with
strong opposition from these quarters.
The Nawaz Sharif led Pakistan Muslim
League Government had at one time tried
to crack down on religious militancy in
Punjab but it was stopped after the
military coup in October 1999. The clout
and strength of organisationss like
Lashkar-e-Toiba can be judged from their
role during the Kargil conflict. The
military Government too had initially
hinted at banning these groups but later
backed out. As per a recent understanding
between the 'jihadi' outfits engaged in
Kashmir and the Pakistani Government, the
former will keep a low profile and desist
from recruiting and collecting donations
openly in return for immunity.
With
Pakistan and India agreeing to talk to
each other, the first hurdle in the peace
process seems to have been crossed. The
major obstacles will however come to
light once the talk begin. India's
success in convincing Gen Pervez
Musharraf of the need for friendly
relations between the two countries and
the later's willingness and ability to
control the 'jehadi' outfits and other
hardline elements in the Pakistan army
can go a long way in silencing the guns
in the Valley.
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Hal
with aviation giants at Paris air show
By
Deepak Arora
Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited (HAL) of India is one
of over 1,700 exhibitors which have
confirmed their participation at the
eight-day Paris air show 2001 beginning
June 17. Dubbed as the biggest
aeronautical and space show in the world,
it would be visited by delegations from
over 43 countries, including India,
Belarus, Georgia, Finland and Northern
Ireland would also attend the air show.
The air
show would see participation from top
global aviation giants including Airbus,
EADS, ADR, Boeing and Gifas. The business
chalets, meeting places between the
exhibition and clients, are
characteristic of the good economic
health of the profession. This year 505
chalet units have been booked compared to
458 in 1999, which is an increase of 8.6
per cent. This year 217 aircraft will be
exhibited in the static display area and
57 aircraft will carry out flying
displays every afternoon.
Some of
the aircraft which would attract great
attention at the show are the Global
Hawk, Endurance UAV (a plane without
pilot) of the size of a business jet and
able to fly an attitude of over 17 km
with a range of 26,000 km; the B2
strategic bomber undetectable by radar
and recently used in Kosovo; a life size
model of Airbus A380, Russian Antonov
225, the biggest carrier in the world and
Sukhoi 30 MK.
The very
latest models in civil aviation such as
Airbus A 340-600 and Boeing B 737- 900,
the longest aircraft of the third B737
generation, will be also be kept at the
show. Some reflecting the last trend of
the Aeronautical and Space Industries
such as the recoverable stage of the
Baikel rocket, the top of Ariane IV and
V, UAVs and airships would also mark
their presence. Famous historical
aircraft, a lot of acrobatic planes of
different types and parachutists during
the general public days will liven up the
sky of the Paris Air Show 2001. More than
270,000 visitors are expected at the
show.
In the
previous show in 1999, as many as 41
countries participated. It attracted
266,454 visitors, including 104,633
professional visitors and 104,633 from
general public from 149 countries. There
were 1,895 exhibitors, including 1,119
from abroad. As many as 3,023 journalists
and 1,193 mediamen covered the events.
There were 204 aircraft on static display
and 69 aircraft and 60 helicopters had
participated in the flying display.
The
numbers of exhibitors, build-up areas and
visitors give a composite indication of
an increase of 10 per cent, compared to
1999. This increase of 10 per cent has
been continuing since 1997, which shows
that the Paris Air Show still has growth
potential. The International Paris Air
Show is the most important event
concerning the aeronautical and space
world- from the airframe manufacturers to
the equipment suppliers. The
international show takes place every two
years at Le Bourget airport
(Seine-Sain-Denis), less than 10 km from
Paris. Created in 1909. it is the oldest
aeronautical show of the world.
For the
first show of the century and of the
millennium, the 44th Paris air show at
Bourget promises to be an exceptional
vintage. Reservations have all-ready been
received for 502 chalet units. For the
first time in its history, the air show
will be filled to capacity. To meet this
unprecedented demand, the organiser has
had to find extra space to set up new
lines of chalets, which have all been
reserved already. In the halls as well,
demand is much greater than the spaces
available- over 62,000 sq mts spread over
six halls, including the new Hall 6 bult
in 1999. With each new show the organiser
makes every effort to impove the
reception facilities and the environment
offered to exhibitors. This year, he has
decided to increase the authorised stand
height from 3 m to 4 m, thus allowing
stands with areas of over 250 sq mts to
include a mezzanine of over 20 per cent
of the floor area. These mezzanines must
of course comply with the regulations
governing safety and organisation related
to height, area and respect for
neighbouring stands.
It's easy
to see: the Paris Air Show, which this
year will be playing host to 39 countries
and 21 national pavilions, will once
again be equal to its reputation. In a
context marked by a wave of restructuring
and merger-buyouts designed to form big
international groups, once again the show
will be designed to create conglomerates
once again the show will be a 'must' for
the related profession, providing global
solutions and becoming the crossroads for
today's partnership and tomorrow's
technologies.
The Paris
Air Show 2001 will add a new dimension
this summer with the debut of a
sectorized international pavilion focused
primarily on aerospace leading-edge
technologies. The Global Solutions
Pavilion will present attendees with the
opportunity to view, at a single
location, many key attendees with the
opportunity to view, in a single
location, many key technologies critical
for the future development of aviation
and space business.
Developed
specifically for the Paris Air Show, the
Global Solutions Pavilion will be ''the
place to be'' at the 2001 event.
Encompassing Hall 1 an area of 4,000
square metres, the Pavilion will showcase
the ''latest and greatest'' in space and
communication, automation and robotics,
telecommunication, metal and materials on
-board comforts and the business of
aviation. In this new ''sectorized''
environment at least 100 exhibitors and
their partners from around the world will
get the exclusive opportunity to
interface with show attendees, discuss
business opportunities, including
partnerships.
In
additions to stand exhibits, the Global
Solutions Pavilion will feature industry
leaders hosting daily presentations and
interactive workshops in a multi-purpose
theatre. Live, interactive product
demonstrations will give attendees an
opportunity to see ''technology in
action''. There will be several
conference rooms, a business centre
equipped with all office needs and a
fully staffed exhibitors' lounge.
Additionally,
the Global Solutions Pavilion will play
host to an international media presence
that will greatly benefit the exhibitors.
In essence, it will become a ''business
playground'', providing exhibitors
maximum exposure and attendees an
innovative environment in which to do
business. The Global Solutions Pavilion
is partnership between the event
organizer Salons Internationaux de'
Aeronautique et de Espace (SIAE),
alongwith AADI and its sister company,
Global Marketing Solutions, a division of
Hannover Fairs USA, Inc. -CNF
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Thailand:
Healthcare for 66 Cents
By Wallapa T
Medicare in
Thailand has never been a bed of roses.
Expensive, and sometimes of dubious quality,
common people have never been assured of good
healthcare. Most medical care is provided by
private hospitals - located mostly in cities -
where the quality of service, prices and the
ethics of the hospital operators have been
questionable.
But the situation
has taken a healthier turn with the Thai Rak Thai
party living up to its election promise of
providing inexpensive, good quality healthcare.
Early this year,
the Thai Rak Thai had promised the people that if
elected, it would make healthcare available for a
mere Baht 30 (US 66 cents) per visit. No one paid
much attention to the promise, until, on being
elected, the government actually decided to
implement the scheme. The 'Baht 30 Healthcare' as
it has now become known, was formally launched
this month. The scheme began at more than 500
hospitals and health centres in the provinces of
Phayao, Nakhon Sawan, Samut Sakhon, Yala,
Yasothon and Pathum Thani. It will later be
extended to other parts of the country.
Before its launch,
the policy was strongly criticised by the medical
community, especially hospital administrators.
Private sector hospitals raised several issues
including the fact that by providing such cheap
healthcare, they would all become bankrupt.
Moreover, it was also felt that there would be
huge numbers of patients at hospitals and the
quality of healthcare would fall dramatically as
a result of the influx of patients.
In hospitals where
this scheme has been introduced, the numbers of
patients is expected to increase by 20 to 30 per
cent. But in the first few days, the number of
patients has not increased. Several reasons have
been forwarded for this. Firstly, many of the
people do not yet know of the scheme and
secondly, it might take a bit of time for them to
adjust to such cheap healthcare.
Deputy Health
Minister Suraphong Suebwonglee said he did not
think people would make a habit of unnecessary
visits to hospital. "I'm sure nobody wants
to fall ill or go to the hospital just because
they have to pay only Baht 30," he said,
after visiting hospitals and health centres in
Pathum Thani.
However, matching
the criticism has been strong support for the
scheme, with the poorer segments of society
praising it lavishly. One of the first patients
to benefit from the scheme was Chanya Limsuwan
who had to pay only Baht 30 to deliver her baby.
The normal charges would have been about Baht
1,000 (US$ 22). "I am so happy that my
labour pains began today. Had it been earlier I
would have had to pay much more for my child's
birth," says 42-year-old Alisala Rathanaphas
who delivered her son under the new scheme.
58-year-old Somjit
Chaipatana is another staunch supporter of the
scheme. "I usually go to Bhumibol Hospital
for my medication. I suffer from hig blood
pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and a number
of other health problems. Earlier each hospital
visit cost me Baht 2,800 (US$ 62), but now I can
get the same treatment for Baht 30," she
says.
While the patients
are no doubt happy, the hospitals have started
counting the money that they are going to lose
thanks to the new scheme. According to Dr Phinit
Hiranchote, Director of Samut Sakhon Hospital,
the actual cost of treating the first six
patients between midnight and 8 am on the day the
scheme was launched was Baht 1,033 (US$ 23), but
the hospital collected only Baht 180 (US$ 4).
Hospital
authorities would no doubt see the matter in a
different light if the government was to
compensate them the difference, but with economic
conditions as bad as they are, there is not much
hope of that happening. (WFS)
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Assassinantion
of King Birendra to
encourage masoists to Nepal
By P.N. Pradhan
The assassination
of king Birendra and queen Aishwarya alongwith
other members of the royal family by prince
Dipendra over a trivial issue does not augur well
for the stability of the Himalayan kingdom. It is
more so in view of the rising Maoist militancy,
drawing its inspiration not just from the
traditional Maoist movements of the Beijing
variety of the late 1960s, but from the more
recent Peruvian Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso, a
Maoist terrorist group, very active since the
beginning of the 1990s) has become very
conspicuous in Nepal over the last few years.
Maoist rebels attacked police stations in two
remote mountain villages in midwest and central
Nepal on April 2, killing at least 35 policemen.
Three rebels died in the attacks. More than 1,500
people have died since the rebels began fighting
the government in 1996.
The militants, who
belong to the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist),
claim that they are fighting to end
constitutional monarchy and to dismantle the
feudal structure that lingers in different parts
of the country. The Communist party of Himalayan
Nepal implemented a constitutional democracy
through a popular "People's Movement"
in, 1990. Then, for five years, the local
communist movement, under the leadership of
CPN(M) has been creating a civil unrest; and now
it seems to have posed unavoidable threats to the
so-called democratic process in Nepal.
Four years ago, on
February 13, 1996, a "people's war", as
it was claimed to be, was initiated in Nepal
under the leadership of the CPN (M). In the first
two weeks, almost 5,000 actions were carried out
throughout the country - including armed assaults
on police stations in rural districts,
"confiscation" of property from
"oppressive" landlords, and "
punishment of local tyrants". So far, this
movement has cost 1,500 to 2,000 lives. Poverty,
corruption, some arbitrary government rules and
the age-old feudal system have fuelled this
massive leftist violence. They aim to overthrow
the bureaucrat-capitalist class and state system,
which they think are dependent on and serve for
imperialism.
The CPN (M) is
applying Mao's strategy of a protracted people's
war - establishing base areas in the countryside
which would surround the cities, seize nationwide
power, and establish a new democratic republic,
as a step toward building a new socialist
society. According to an article written by B.K.
Rana in a recent issue (April 4) in The Peoples
Review (a political and business weekly,
published from Kathmandu), Maoist activities are
spreading fast in Nepal and these rebels belong
mostly to the Magar Community, including the
Tharus, Tamangs and a few others. Magars claim
they form 25 per cent of the total population and
are hence the largest section in the country.
Maoist activities originated from Rolpa in west
Nepal, the home of the Magars.
The rebels claim
that western Nepal is historically,
geographically and culturally the basin of their
revolution. The population is more oppressed by
the ruling classes, and the government in
Kathmandu is based too far from this part of
Nepal. In a recent interview to a US daily,
Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda, the Chairman
of the CPN(M), said that economically the ruling
class of Nepal have always neglected the
development of the west because they thought it
to be a bad investment. Added to this, according
to Prachanda, was the growing sense of feeling
"oppressed" by the "upper caste
chauvinistic-hegemonistic attitude" of the
ruling classes' towards them. Sociological
studies reveal that the people of the western
Nepal mainly belong to the Mongolian ethnic
group, also evident from their Mongoloid
features. They were not so much within the grip
of the different reigns that controlled the rest
of Nepal before the beginning and till the middle
of the 19th century. With the advent of the
Gorkha empire this part was seized - but not
totally captured. There had been some kind of
autonomy even then. People were not much bothered
about the distant power that wanted their
subjugation. "The Magar ancestors.have so
glorious history of shedding blood in the making
of modern Nepal. But they are portrayed as
villains in the pages of history," lamented
Rana in his article mentioned above.
Though Nepal is a
pilgrim's city for the devout Hindus, one would
hardly find any temple in the western part
(especially in the regions of Rolpa and Rukum).
The CPN (M) ascribes this as a culture where
upper caste Hindu-chauvinism and feudal values do
not prevail. That is the reason, the CPN (M)
concentrates on "working" in these
areas, like in Thabang and Rolpa" Reports
from different sections of the Press (including
foreign agencies), investigations by different
human rights organization (notably among them,
Institute for Human Rights Communication, Nepal)
indicated that a weak political and
administrative system, rampant corruption and its
traditional isolation, magnified by Nepal's
abject poverty, have added advantage to the
Maoists to reach the target they are groping for,
that is, freeing Nepal from the
"Semi-feudal-semi-colonial social system by
means of Peoples War as envisaged by Mao
Zedong".
Nepal's
population, a mosaic of different tribes,
language groups, and religions, was secluded in
the mountains for centuries. Many still live in
remote villages that take several days' walk to
reach. Many villages have been totally ignored by
economic planners - they have to do without
schools, roads, electricity, or medical
facilities. The increasing number of unemployed
people, sub-standard education (close to 100,000
rural youths failing high school examinations
every year), little domestic capital to invest,
and inadequate foreign aid have made the scenario
critical.
Average economic
growth, approximately four per cent per year for
the past few years, has become insufficient to
absorb the estimated 500,000 young people who
join the labour force each year. Maoists are thus
receiving widespread support from these people.
Unemployed youths are joining the CPN(M), a
significant part of them being women (over one
hundred women have died fighting the police). The
support and participation of non-Hindu ethnic
castes (known as Janajatis) has been yet another
strength of the insurgency. According to some
political analysts, the geographical positioning
of Nepal is strategically sensitive to India,
Bangladesh and China.
Many speculate
that external entities might also be involved in
this growing insurgency. Nepal's Maoists have
covert links with India's Maoist rebels like the
People's War Group (PWG) and Maoist Coordination
Centre (MCC), which are active in Andhra Pradesh,
Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar. The 120-km Araniko
highway linking Nepal and China, constructed in
the 1960s with Chinese assistance despite India's
objection, passes though Kavre, Dolakha and
Sidhupalchok districts, hotbeds of Maoist
insurgency.
Of course, there
is currently no evidence of official Chinese
support for the Nepalese Maoists. But political
analysts feel that an upsurge in Tibetan
activities in Nepal could make the Maoists a
tempting instrument for reprisal.
The situation is
not yet ripe for a showdown, and might need a few
more years of intense insurgent activities. The
Maoists do not have sufficient arms and
ammunition, but snatching of arms from the police
forces is not really a distant possibility.
In view of the
emerging scenario, and coronation of prince
Gyanendra, India has to adopt a policy of wait
and watch. At the same time, there is an urgent
need for greater interaction between Indian and
Nepalese political leadership to strengthen
bilateral relations between the two countries.
Political stability in Nepal is political
stability at the northern border of India. INAV
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