Fiction: As the Life Turns - Part 4

By Ajay Pradhan | February 1, 2009

[Coming soon...]

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Fiction: As the Life Turns - Part 3

By Ajay Pradhan | January 25, 2009

In December 1998 Ashay was an undergraduate student at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He studied public policy with a major in international relations at Duke’s Sanford Institute of Public Policy and a minor in environmental policy at Nicholas School of the Environment. Global politics and policy intrigued him, especially those related to how powerful countries manipulated international relations, dominating less powerful countries for resources and influence, in the name of security.

On December 14, Ashay finished his final exams of the semester. He had one last semester to complete before his graduation in May of the next year. After the last exam, he rushed out of the Sanford Institute building and walked towards Towerview Road and briskly headed east along a forested stretch of the road towards Union Drive. He had a meeting scheduled in 30 minutes with Professor Henry Jacobsen and his undergraduate advisor Professor Robert Ascher in the Political Science Department at Perkins Library building, which was located in the beautifully landscaped quad just next to the awe-inspiring Duke Chapel, the centerpiece of Duke’s beautiful campus with Gothic architecture-dominated buildings.

As he turned the corner on Union Drive, his friends Colin Dunn and his girlfriend Cynthia McBride called out at him as they crossed the street towards him.

“Hey guys,” Ashay waved at them.

“Ash, how’s it going? You done with your exams? Neha says you’re going to New York with her tomorrow. What’s the deal?” Colin said.

“Yeah, that’s right. I don’t know what the mission is all about yet, but Bob offered us a chance to participate in a delegation to India, Pakistan and Nepal through CFR.”

“Bob who? Ascher? And CFR?”

“Yes, Ascher. CFR, the Council on Foreign Relations.”

“Sounds cool. Good for you. When do you leave New York?”

“We’re leaving New York on the 18th. I’m looking forward to the trip.”

“I’m sure you are. You have to tell us everything about the trip when you’re back,” Cynthia said. “Hey, Ash, wanna go to the Hideaway tonight? A bunch of us are going there for couple of drinks.” Hideaway was an on-campus pub and dance club, a popular student hangout, sort of hidden under a concrete driveway structure, not too far from the Chapel.

“I’d love to, but I’m not sure yet. I’m not quite done packing for tomorrow yet. If I come, I won’t be able to do late night. What time are you guys planning to be there at anyway?”

“That’s alright. Just come on over for a while. We plan to be there around 7. You got a ride to the airport tomorrow? Let me know if you need a ride,” Colin asked.

“Thanks, Colin, but Bob’s dropping us off at RDU.” RDU was short for Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Interstate-40, about 12 miles from Durham towards Raleigh, just about 25 minutes drive away. “Alright, guys, I've got a meeting with Bob in 15 minutes. I gotta run. See you later at the Hideaway, hopefully.”

“See ya.” Cynthia and Colin waved bye and walked on.

Ashay walked up north on Union Drive towards the Chapel. He reached Perkins within 5 minutes and he still had 10 minutes left for the meeting. Ashay had been assisting Ascher in his research on international conflict for the last 18 months. Ascher and Jacobsen recently offered Ashay and Neharika Kulkarni, a fourth-year political science undergraduate student, an opportunity to participate as assistant in an international delegation led by the New York City-based Council on Foreign Relations to India, Pakistan, and Nepal with a brief stopover meeting at International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) in Singapore. Neharika was Jacobsen’s research assistant. She was the daughter of a high-ranking Defense Ministry officer in New Delhi.

Ashay didn’t yet have full details of the delegation or the mission. All he knew was that he and Neharika were to be part of a delegation that’ll go to India, Pakistan and Nepal on regional security relations fact-finding mission in the Indian subcontinent. Ascher had told him it should be interesting and had something to do about regional security intelligence agencies of India and Pakistan. How does Nepal figure into it, Ashay had asked Ascher. Because both Indian and Pakistani agencies RAW and ISI are suspected of having used Nepal as a safe haven playground against each other, Ascher had told him. He jumped on the opportunity to go. The mere mention of Nepal was sufficient for him to accept the offer. The details could wait.

The delegation was to be officially jointly led by a career diplomat named J. William Middleton from the U.S. Department of State and his counterpart in Pentagon, Retd. Col. Howard G. Brooks. The delegation was to have two yet unidentified intelligence officers from the CIA, one State Department official, one Pentagon specialist, three CFR staff officials, and one other student. That student, a Pakistani national, was an undergraduate student at Columbia University. The next day Ashay and Neharika were to catch a 12:30 PM flight to New York City to participate in a preparatory meeting at the CFR Headquarters.

Arriving near Perkins, under the Duke Chapel, Ashay surveyed the beautifully landscaped green lawns in front of him. He took a deep breath and thought what it’d be like to be with him mother in Kathmandu in just a few days. When he found out about the mission two weeks ago, he immediately called his mother in Kathmandu. She was thrilled. He hadn’t really done any shopping to give his mom and family any gifts yet. He made sure that he’d do shopping in New York before his departure for Nepal. In New York, he’ll be staying at a hotel near the CFR Headquarters, but he had promised to visit a cousin and her family in Elmhurst area in Queens. His cousin had asked him to stay at her house, but citing intensive program at CFR, Ashay said he’d better stayed closer to the CFR office, but he had added jokingly, “Invite me for a Nepali dinner, and I’ll surely come. It’s been a while.”

When Ashay arrived at Jacobsen’s office, Neharika was already waiting there. “Hey, just in time, kiddo,” Neharika called him kiddo when she was in her lighter moods. They shared the same birthday, born the same year. He was born at 4 AM and she at 3 AM. She was technically an hour older than him.

“Henry and Bob both in?” Ashay asked.

“Kathy says Henry’s on the phone. He should be done soon. Bob’s not in yet; should be here any minute, I hope.” Kathy was Jacobsen’s secretary.

Kathy came out and said, “Hi Ash and Neha, you wanna come in and wait until Bob arrives? Henry’s still on the phone.”

Soon, Jacobsen emerged from his office. “Come on in guys, Bob’s on the way. How are you guys?”

“Hi Henry,” both Neharika and Ashay spoke at the same time. “I’m good, thanks. How are you?”

“Not bad. Not bad at all. So, you guys excited about the trip?” Jacobsen asked. Ascher walked in at the same time. “Alright, Bob’s here.”

“Hey folks,” Bob said, taking his coat off and settling down in a chair.

“Hi Bob,” everyone said.

Bob said, “I wanted us to meet before your departure tomorrow. As you know, we’re doing this for CFR, not for the government. Even though the delegation will be led by the government, you two will be a part of the CFR mission. You know CFR is an independent, non-partisan organization that works closely with government policymakers, especially those who deal with foreign policies. You will report to CFR. The CFR delegation will be led by its Senior Director. But, of course, you are fully expected to cooperate with the government delegation and comply with their requirements.”

“What’s the mission?” Ashay asked.

“Our mission is academic and is more closely associated with that of CFR. The government’s mission is anybody’s guess,” Jacobsen replied.

“But what’s our mission?” Neharika asked.

“Overall, we want to know the modalities of how the intelligence agencies of India and Pakistan are working. Specifically, we want to know if either or both of these countries have used or are using Nepal as a base against each other. And we want to know if anybody in the Nepal Government are helping either or both of the rival agencies.”

“Why? Why do we want to know?” Ashay looked at Jacobsen and then at Ascher. “And what are two undergraduate students to do with all this?”

“Smart question, Ash,” Ascher said. “Our interest is in understanding regional relations and rivalries and their implications and see if all this follows an established model. As for the second part of your question, there are two things here. One, government agencies in any of the countries involved would be less resistant to allow student researchers access to information. As academic researchers, you will have more success getting at information than any government officials would. Two, you each know the languages and the system of government in India and Nepal.”

“What about Pakistan?” Neharika asked.

“Tom Parkins of Columbia has selected one of his students who happens to be a native of Pakistan. He says the young man is a smart fellow,” Jacobsen responded.

“Tom Parkins? Professor Thomas Parkins?” Ashay asked.

“Yes, him.”

“So, what’s CFR’s role in this?” Ashay asked again.

“They have similar interest as ours. They want to understand the trilateral political, diplomatic and military relations between India, Pakistan and Nepal and how the relationship shapes the works of intelligence operatives. They want to know if these complex relationships based on regional rivalry can be understood with an established model,” Ascher said.

“What about the government? Why are the State Department, Pentagon and CIA involved?” Ashay asked.

“That is a tough question. CFR has advised us not to try to be too inquisitive about the purpose of their mission. But we can certainly speculate. Of course, the State Department wants to create a presence of influence in the Indian sub-continent. The State and Pentagon’s interest is because India and Pakistan’s bilateral relation is a hot button issue. The Kashmir issue is a volatile one. And, of course, the CIA wants to maintain a credible level of intelligence not only over the two countries, but over the entire region, Afghanistan included, especially because of the radical Taliban government there. The official government delegation will be led by a diplomat named Bill Middleton. I hear he's an old Nepal and India hand. They say he's had diplomatic tenures in all three countries, Nepal, India and Pakistan when he was younger” Jacobsen said, as he removed his eyeglasses and cleaned them with his handkerchief.

"I hear he even speaks a bit of Nepali and Hindi," Ascher added, looking at the two young students.

“OK, what’s our deliverable?” Ashay asked.

“A detailed term paper. Both of you are to write a term paper each. That’s going to be your senior thesis. And I know you won't disappoint us.”

“And why’s CFR paying for all this?” Neharika asked.

“Because they want to use your term paper as chapters of a book on foreign policy that they’re planning to bring out. It’s an opportunity of a life time. Take full advantage of it,” Ascher encouraged.

“We will,” both Ashay and Neharika said, both truly grateful. “And thanks for selecting us for this mission.”

“Your main contact at CFR is Bill Prescott, the Senior Director and his assistant Jane Middleton,” Ascher informed them. “I’ll give you a ride to the airport tomorrow. CFR will have you picked up at La Guardia tomorrow. Jane Middleton will give you all the details about travel documents, stipends, expenses, etc. It’s fully paid by CFR.”

“If you have any question, call, email Bob or myself anytime. Good luck,” Jacobsen ended the meeting.

As Ashay and Neharika rose, Ascher looked at their backpacks and winked at them, “You guys do have a more decent bag, don’t you? And I hope you both have some decent clothing, too.”

* * *

As they walked out of the meeting, Ashay asked Neharika, “Neha, wanna go to the Hideaway for a drink or two tonight?”

“You asking me out on a date?,” giggled Neharika.

“A date at the Hideaway? Jeez, gosh, no. If I wanted to take you out on a date, I’d take you to a decent restaurant on 9th Street or on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill,” smiled Ashay. “But, know what, yes, OK, I’m asking you out. Wanna go?” 9th Street was a downtown Durham street dotted with restaurants and Franklin Street was a lively street with restaurants in the nearby Chapel Hill, the home to Duke's basketball rival, the UNC-Chapel Hill.

“Come on, Ash. Be serious. We both have packing to do. And I don’t wanna wake up groggy in the morning.” Both kept walking.

“Colin and Cynthia asked if I wanted to go. A bunch of people are going, I think. Just thought I’d enjoy more if you joined.”

“Joined there or went with you?” Neharika quizzed, giggling.

“OK, if you went with me.”

She stopped walking, turned towards him, looked him in the eyes, paused for a moment, then placed her soft hand on his forearm, and whispered, “Of course, I’ll go with you, kiddo.”

He looked at her without saying anything for an awkward moment, then gazed into her eyes, and whispered back, “Will pick you up just before 7?”

“Sure.” She had a soft smile on her face, and a sparkle in her eyes.

* * *

That evening, Neharika wore a beautiful light green-hued flowery blouse, a Cashmere cardigan, a nice pair of jeans, and a pair of trendy green and purple sequoined high heels that she had picked up at a shoe store in Karol Bagh when she was in New Delhi the last time. She dabbed Chanel No. 5 perfume on her wrists, her napes, and on her chest, and put on a pair of cute earrings. She put on lipstick, lined her eyes with eyeliner, curled her lashes with mascara, and blended in just a hint of blush on her cheeks. She hooked a gold chain around her neck, with a heart-shaped gold pendant. She let her hair down, held a coat in her hand, and waited for Ashay.

Ashay arrived 5 minutes before 7. “You look beautiful.” He gave her a hug, and opened the passenger side door for her.

“Why, thank you, you knight in shining armor,” joked Neharika.

“Off we go to the Hideaway, the best ever destination for a date,” Ashay joked, too.

The Hideaway was already crowded when they arrived. Cynthia, Colin, Rebecca Matthews, Rebecca Chang, Steve Ma, Maria Ricaldez, Abubaker Odhiambo, Jayant Desai, Chris Barnett, Suresh Wadhwa, and Kiran Parekh were all there. More were still coming in. They were all friends of Ashay and Neharika's.

Ashay and Neharika met with everyone. “Neha, what can I get you?” Ashay asked.

“What are you having? Or, whatever you’re having. Except beer,” said Neharika.

“Well, I was going to get a beer for myself. You want some martinis? How about a Cosmo?”

“Sure.”

At the bar, Ashay ordered a honey brown lager for himself and a Cosmo for Neharika.

They stayed there for about an hour, chatting with friends, enjoying the company and drinks and dancing. Then around 8 pm Ashay whispered into Neharika's ear, "I hope you're hungry, cuz I am. Do you want to go somewhere and eat something?"

"I'm starving," whispered Neharika.

Soon they left the club, saying good bye to their friends. Their friends wished them a pleasant journey ahead and bid them farewell. Ashay drove towards 9th Street, with Neharika by his side. They had dinner at Ravena's, a local restaurant. Around 9:30 PM, they left the restaurant and Ashay drove Neharika home.

“Thanks for a lovely evening, Ash.”

“My pleasure, Neha.”

She stepped towards her apartment building, then stopped, paused, turned around, saw him looking at her, and she walked back.

“Good night, kiddo,” she gave him a hug.

“Good night," he hugged her back. "Go now. See you tomorrow.”

He waited until she was inside her apartment building, and then drove off.

* * *

The next day, Professor Ascher dropped Ashay and Neharika at the RDU Airport at 11:00 AM. “Make the most of your trip, guys, and have fun,” Ascher gave them a bear hug. “Remember, I selected the best students for this unique opportunity that CFR can ever get from anywhere. Good luck. Have a safe and enjoyable journey, Ash and Neha.”

“Thanks, Bob, thanks for all this,” Neharika said. Ashay added, ” Take care, Bob. See you in January. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”

The flight from RDU to La Guardia Airport in New York was only an hour and 35 minutes. They were going to be in New York just after 2 PM and they were scheduled to be picked up for transfer to the CFR Headquarters on East 68th Street near Park Avenue.

Arriving in front of the CFR Headquarters at the Harold Pratt House on East 68th Street in the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, Neharika nudged at Ashay, “This is it. We’re on.”

“Yes, we are indeed,” Ashay said, looking at the imposing building in front of him.

Once Ashay and Neharika were inside, an office assistant ushered them into a room where they were greeted by an attractive young woman, “Hi, You must be Neharika Kulkarni and Ashay Shrestha. I’m Jane Middleton. Welcome to CFR. I’m a research associate here. I’ll be sort of your CFR host while you’re here and on the trip. Anytime you have a question, let me know,” she handed them her business card.

Ashay looked at her business card. It read, Jennifer R.L. Middleton, Research Associate, Council on Foreign Relations, The Harold Pratt House, 58 E. 68th Street, New York, NY 10065.

Ashay looked at the attractive young woman who he thought couldn’t be any older than him. He thought to himself, I think I’ve seen her somewhere before. But he couldn’t recall where or when it was that he had seen her before, if he ever did.

“Lets go to the meeting room. I’ll introduce you to some other people,” Jane led them to another room where there were five other people already seated. “Hi everyone, meet Neharika Kulkarni and Ashay Shrestha, both from Duke. They have just arrived. Ashay and Neharika, meet John Dunsmore, Steve Cabot, Karen McNulty, Ravindran Shankaran and Parvez Ashraf.”

After the exchange of pleasantries, they all settled down for a meeting. Jane continued, ”John, Steve, Karen and Ravin are CFR staff members, they are all Senior Fellow. Parvez is an undergraduate student at Columbia. Karen, Ravin and Parvez will be joining the delegation. By the way, all of us are from New York, except Ravin, who’s from our Washington, DC office. We’ll have our full meeting tomorrow at 9:00 AM. The delegation leaders and other participants are going to be in tomorrow’s meeting. Today, it’s going to be quick. I’ll give you all the materials for you to read and familiarize. I’ll give you the trip itinerary and program and a list of contacts in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Singapore. All your travel documentation is ready. There are some forms that you’ll need to sign, just travel insurance-related formality. After the meeting, I’ll take Ravin, Ashay and Neharika to hotel; I’ve booked three rooms for you guys. It’s not too far, but it’s too cold to walk, especially with your suitcases. We’ll all meet at Malone’s at 6:30 for dinner.” Malone’s was a popular restaurant just three blocks north on Park Avenue and 71st Street. The hotel Ashay, Neharika and Shankaran were booked into was located three blocks further up north on Park and 74th.

Ashay was listening, but more looking than listening. The more he looked at Jane, the more he tried to remember where and when he had seen her.

After the brief meeting, Jane Middleton drove Ashay, Neharika and Shankaran with their luggage to the hotel. As they arrived at the hotel, Ashay's cell phone rang. It was his cousin. She wanted him to come to her house for finner, but since he had to go to dinner with the CFR group, they quickly made a plan for him to visit her house after dinner. She and her husband were going to pick him up at the hotel after dinner.

As he entered the hotel room, Ashay thought about Jane Middleton and tried to remember where he had seen her before.

[End of Part 3]

Note: I welcome your comments. Be critical if you want, or praise if you wish. Please excuse spelling errors. I've yet to run a spell check on it.

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Maoist's Attack On the Media Continues: Are YCLs the New Mandales?

By Ajay Pradhan | December 24, 2008

These are strange times. But these are not unique times. History repeats itself.

When in government, you're supposed to maintain law and order. What do you do when those who are in power themselves defend, even encourage, actions of musclemen who attack, intimidate with violence and death threats, vandalize, and carry out violent physical assaults on journalists who don't tow their line?

In Nepal, under the implicit protection and complicity of the leaders of the Communist Party of Nepal - Maoist, the party that leads the current governing coalition, the Maoist-affiliated trade union groups have got a free pass from the CPN-Maoist leadership to unleash with impunity a reign of terror on the free press.

Despite leading the governing coalition, Maoists are still continuing their insurgency-time mentality and behavior of using violence to intimidate free press that dare to report news that the Maoists don't like. Such attack on the free press is unacceptable and should not go unpunished.

On Sunday, approximately 50 Maoist-affiliated trade union members, most of whom are the defamed and feared Maoist-affiliated Young Communist League members (more commonly known simply as the YCL), carried out a vicious physical attack on the journalists, management and staff of Himalmedia, a Kathmandu-based media enterprise that publishes such reputable publications as the Nepali Times and the Himal Khabarpatrika and vandalized their head office. Many Himalmedia staffers were injured in the assault by a large gang of masked Maoist YCLs.

The attack drew immediate national and international condemnation. The embarrassed Maoist Prime Minister Prachanda put a political spin on the matter and blamed the attack on whom he called the "ex-monarchists" who he said infiltrated his party to defame them. The very next day, however, the defiant Maoist trade union chief, Salikram Jammarkattel, who is also a Maoist member of the Constituent Assembly, ironically rendered Prachanda's spin doctoring worthless when he threatened further, more vicious attacks on Himalmedia, if the media house did not yield in to the demands of Maoist trade union. That was an admission that Maoist leadership encouraged the attack. The two Maoist trade union leaders who led the attackers were reportedly safely ensconced in a YCL camp. Their demand was reinstatement of 22 non-journalist staffers who were let go.

Prachanda and Jammarkattel should know you don't settle labor dispute through physical attacks. If Himalmedia had let go those 22 staff members illegally, then the proper course of action would be to go to a labor tribunal or a court of law. Physical assault by a group that is affiliated with the party in power can only be construed as the government's intention to muzzle the free press. Maoists maintain that this is an issue of labor dispute. However, facts show that this is an issue of Maoists trying to muzzle the press. It appears that Sunday's assault was triggered by criticism of Jammarkattel the previous day by the Himal Khabarpatrika. This is deeply troubling. You simply don't muzzle criticism of a public figure by using physical force. Maoists must realize that their days of guerrilla insurgency are over. They must play fair and peaceful politics.

This is not the first time Maoist-affiliated labor groups have attacked Himalmedia. On October 25, Maoist perpetrators attacked with stones the Himalmedia CEO and his driver while they were in a van. On November 16, a group of Maoists burned 5,000 copies of a Himalmedia newspaper at a distribution depot. Then they made death threats against Himalmedia staffers the next day.

In October 2007, Maoists vandalized the offices of another large Kathmandu-based media enterprise, the Kantipur Publications that publishes such popular newspapers as the Kathmandu Post and the Kantipur for ciriticizing the Maoist party. Even after winning the Constituent Assembly election, Prachanda himself is on record for having warned Kantipur journalists not to criticize the Maoists and made unspecified threats if the media house did not comply with his demand. There have been many other attacks on journalists; some have even been murdered.

This is not how a government builds a nation. This is not how a government inspires confidence. This is not how a government builds trust. Without confidence and trust, the Maoists might as well forget about building a New Nepal.

Let's be very clear on one thing. Intimidation and violent physical attacks cannot and will not muzzle the media. Prachanda would do well for himself keeping this basic tenet of free press and freedom of speech squarely in his mind. Otherwise, the rising infamy of vicious YCL activities will engulf the credibility of Prachanda and his comrades, much like what the infamous Mandales did to expedite the demise of the seemingly invincible Panchayat system of government that had undemocratically ruled the country for 30 years from the 1960s to the 1980s, banning opposition political parties. That history is not very old and still fresh in our memory. The much despised Panchayati Mandales did then what YCLs are doing today.

If Maoists don't check the activities of YCL, they had better recall the fate of the despised and infamous Mandales of the Panchayat era that was, in part, responsible for the end of the Panchayat system. If YCLs are not the new Mandales, Maoists will have to show that.

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Maoists' Plan Will Reverse Progress in Education and Healthcare Sectors in Nepal

By Ajay Pradhan | November 6, 2008

Finance Minister Baburam Bhattarai has reportedly asked the private educational institutions in Nepal to look for alternative means for making investments. The media reports quote him as saying today at a function organized by Maoist-affiliated student wing, that it is the state's responsibility to provide basic education and health to its people. His statement reveals what may be on the way in Maoists' education and healthcare policy.

There is something wrong with this picture. First, as if by the power of magic, Bhattarai appears to have curiously developed the ability and acumen of a financial investment analyst to advise investors how and where to invest their money. Bhattarai is no investment analyst. He's a politician. He's a politician with rigid communist ideology that has produced no beneficial results anywhere the ideology has been practiced.

Second, Bhattarai's plan (or is it just a wish?) clearly leaves no room for private sector participation in education and health sectors. It's not bad for the state to provide basic education and healthcare services (and actually, it is expected) and I'll give Bhattarai credit for that. But, for a country that needs to leap-frog if at all it wants to emerge from the shackles of poverty and underdevelopment, "basic" is just not enough. Thanks, but no thanks, Mr. Bhattarai.

What does Bhattarai want to do? What now then? No Rato Bangala? No Budhanilkantha School? No St. Xavier's and St. Mary's? No AVM? No Norvic? No private school? No private hospitals?

To the extent that the government's role is to enable the state to provide basic education and healthcare, I agree with Bhattarai. But, his idea that private sector involvement is not necessary in either education or health sector comes off as a belligerent argument of a nut-case politician. I'm sorry for this harsh assessment, but Bhattarai has left no room for much else.

Nepal needs public-private partnership both in education and healthcare sectors. That is the only way Nepal will create centers of excellence. Just to provide fodder for ultra leftists within the party that are indoctrinated with unbending political philosophy that equalization is the objective, Bhattarai is simply trying to lower the bar for excellence. You don't need to destroy centers of excellence in the name of providing equal opportunity. Instead, government's focus should be increase investment in public school system and improve their quality. That's how you provide opportunities to the underprivileged, not by eliminating private sector participation. The government should leave private schools and private hospitals alone.

Eliminating private participation in education and healthcare sectors, or any other sector, for that matter, will not only stifle the spirit of promoting excellence, but will also be a bad economic policy. It will drive away capital investment from abroad. Nepal badly needs foreign capital investment to develop its resource base.

If Bhattarai has problem with certain run-of-the-mill private schools and healthcare centers whose quality of service is questionable, then he ought to be able to control them. He has the power and the wherewithal to do so. You don't amputate the whole limb if your finger is hurting.

Eliminating private sector involvement in education and healthcare sectors is the surest way of eliminating the basis for promoting excellence. Without excellence, Nepal government might as well forget making Nepal competitive in today's globalized economy.

Bhattarai also remarked that "the government is preparing to distribute academic certificates through open universities to those individuals who could not receive formal education due to their involvement in the Maoist war." Is Bhattarai for real? Has he lost his mind? Well, he might as well go ahead and distribute Ph.D.'s to all his Maoist "friends who could not pursue education due to their involvement in the armed conflict." This is too bizarre that it isn't even funny.

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Maoists' Plan Will Reverse Progress in Education and Healthcare Sectors

By Ajay Pradhan | November 6, 2008

Finance Minister Baburam Bhattarai has reportedly asked the private educational institutions in Nepal to look for alternative means for making investments. The media reports quote him as saying today at a function organized by Maoist-affiliated student wing, that it is the state's responsibility to provide basic education and healthcare services to its people. His statement reveals what may be on the way in Maoists' education and healthcare policy.

There is something wrong with this picture. First, as if by the power of magic, Bhattarai appears to have curiously developed the ability and acumen of a financial investment analyst to advise investors how and where to invest their money. Bhattarai is no investment analyst. He's a politician. He's a politician with rigid communist ideology that has produced no beneficial results anywhere the ideology has been practiced.

Second, Bhattarai's plan (or is it just a wish?) clearly leaves no room for private sector participation in education and health sectors. It's not bad for the state to provide basic education and healthcare services (and actually, it is expected) and I'll give Bhattarai credit for that. But, for a country that needs to leap-frog if at all it wants to emerge from the shackles of poverty and underdevelopment, "basic" is just not enough. Thanks, but no thanks, Mr. Bhattarai.

What does Bhattarai want to do? What now then? No Rato Bangala? No Budhanilkantha School? No St. Xavier's and St. Mary's? No AVM? No Norvic? No private school? No private hospitals?

To the extent that the government's role is to enable the state to provide basic education and healthcare, I agree with Bhattarai. But, his idea that private sector involvement is not necessary in either education or health sector comes off as a belligerent argument of a nut-case politician. I'm sorry for this harsh assessment, but Bhattarai has left no room for much else.

Nepal needs public-private partnership both in education and healthcare sectors. That is the only way Nepal will create centers of excellence. Just to provide fodder for ultra leftists within the party that are indoctrinated with unbending political philosophy that equalization is the objective, Bhattarai is simply trying to lower the bar for excellence. You don't need to destroy centers of excellence in the name of providing equal opportunity. Instead, government's focus should be on increasing investment in public school system and improve their quality. That's how you provide opportunities to the underprivileged, not by eliminating private sector participation. The government should leave private schools and private hospitals alone.

Eliminating private participation in education and healthcare sectors, or any other sector, for that matter, will not only stifle the spirit of promoting excellence, but will also be a bad economic policy. It will drive away capital investment from abroad. Nepal badly needs foreign capital investment to develop its resource base.

If Bhattarai has problem with certain run-of-the-mill private schools and healthcare centers whose quality of service is questionable, then he ought to be able to control them. He has the power and the wherewithal to do so. You don't amputate the whole limb if your finger is hurting.

Eliminating private sector involvement in education and healthcare sectors is the surest way of eliminating the basis for promoting excellence. Without excellence, Nepal government might as well forget making Nepal competitive in today's globalized economy.

Bhattarai also remarked that "the government is preparing to distribute academic certificates through open universities to those individuals who could not receive formal education due to their involvement in the Maoist war." Is Bhattarai for real? Has he lost his mind? Well, he might as well go ahead and distribute Ph.D.'s to all his Maoist "friends who could not pursue education due to their involvement in the armed conflict." This is too bizarre that it isn't even funny.

Read more...

Maoist's Hollow Rhetoric of Lifting Nepal from Penury to Prosperity

By Ajay Pradhan | October 20, 2008

Is the governing Communist Party of Nepal - Maoist (CPN-M) in disarray? Mutually incongruous statements have recently come out in the media from the party supremo Prachanda and his second-ranking aide Baburam Bhattarai.

Finance Minister Bhattarai is quoted by the Kathmandu-based Nepali Times on October 13 as saying at a talk program in Washington, DC recently that "our ultimate goal is communism... I don't want to be dishonest." Bhattarai was in the U.S. capital to attend the joint annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

In the recent weeks, when he was in New Delhi, Bhattarai pleaded for foreign direct investment (FDI) in Nepal. Prime Minister Prachanda himself has, on several different occasions, stated Nepal welcomes foreign capital investment.

While in the U.S., Bhattarai traveled to Cambridge, Massachusetts and gave a talk entitled "Penury to Prosperity: A Talk On Nepal's Economic Future" at Harvard University. He dreams of lifting Nepal from penury to prosperity and yet unabashedly states that his party's political goal is to turn Nepal into a communist state. Not going to happen. Mr. Bhattarai ought to quit day dreaming. How about being pragmatist and moving away from the far left edge of the political spectrum? He can give swaggering political statements about his political objective, but he cannot convince the global community that Nepal, under the Maoists' long-term rigid and ideological agenda of establishing a communist state, would be a safe bet for foreign investment.

Nepal needs three things for economic growth. First, much needed capital for increasing productivity. Nepal can raise this capital, for example, by inviting FDI. Second, foreign markets for Nepali goods and services to grow Nepal's economy and earn the much needed foreign currency to pay for import of goods and services that Nepal does not have. Third, productive workforce. Nepal needs to create a productive workforce rapidly. Foreign investors with lot of capitals will not come to Nepal if Nepal cannot provide trained workers and open up royalty-generating productive resource base. These are the three essential elements for putting the country on a path of economic development. Nepal needs no miracle. If politicians are willing to be pragmatic, then Nepal can achieve success.

One essential precondition for FDI is for any foreign company, whether owned by foreigners or by non-resident Nepalis, to be able to invest in Nepal without the fear of their capital investment ever being nationalized. Nobody will come to invest in Nepal if the country's finance minister blusters in international arena that his party's political goal is turning the country into a communist state where the state could deprive the owner of the company the right to property. The second essential precondition is the ability of the foreign company that establishes an affiliate company in Nepal to exercise control (in terms of percentage ownership and voting rights within the company) over its foreign affiliate.

In order for a country to grow economically, its government has to play less obstructionist role and more of facilitator's role. Hard-nosed socialism, let alone communism, will not afford the free-market confidence that the foreign investors need and want. By any which name, government intervention and ownership of public enterprises is a recipe for killing market competition and efficiency.

What Nepal needs is a free market system with only oversight and enforcement role for the government when market fails. Nothing more. No government ownership of Nepal Oil Corporation. No monopoly ownership of electric utility company. No government ownership of Nepal Telecom. No government ownership of Nepal Airlines. No government ownership of commodity production and supplies distribution enterprises. No more monopolies.

It's a shame that Nepal government more or less has a monopoly ownership and operational controls over these enterprises and yet can't provide the basic supplies and services that people need. It's a shame that Nepal government owns Nepal Oil Corporation, the monopolistic behemoth, whose only job is to import, store and distribute fuel oils, and still runs into massive perennial revenue loss, yet rewards executives and staff with fat bonuses, while fuel scarcity forces consumers to line up for hours to be able to purchase a few liters of gasoline. It's a shame that the government owns the only electric utility in the country and still almost all homes in Kathmandu, the country's capital, have to endure power outage for 4-8 hours a day, 6 days a week. When you are in that kind of situation, you have to wonder if Nepal is yet in the 21st Century.

In all these enterprises and more others, we need less government control and intervention, not more. How do the Maoists like Prachanda and Bhattarai think of growing the country's economy when their political dream is to establish a communist state? We don't have to look much beyond Nepal's neighbors to see that it is by introducing liberal economic policies that both India and China have been able to remove bureaucratic hurdles for transaction and investment and put the countries on a path to achieving double digit growth rates. India liberalized its capital flow policies in trade and investment sectors and is now reaping the benefits in terms of high economic growth rates. China liberalized its economy in 1979 when Deng Xiaoping trashed Mao's stifling communist economic policies all but in name. Soviet empire collapsed in 1992 under the dead-weight of failing communist economic policies.

Maoists' robotic use of rhetoric and propaganda of fighting feudalism in Nepal is getting a little tiring. Nepal must focus on increasing productivity, growing the economy and creating wealth. If you don't have wealth, not any kind of wealth and land redistribution is going to put the country on the path to prosperity.

Gone are the days of closed economy of communism. Nepal needs international partners to help gain economic momentum. This is the era of globalization. Mr. Bhattarai, quit your swagger, be a pragmatist, and stop being a hurdle to taking the country on a road to liberty, human rights, freedom of assembly and speech, multi-party political competition, right to property, and open economy with little government control. It's only with open mind, not closed, that Nepalis will be able to lift the country from penury to prosperity.

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Stepping Up Canada-Nepal Diplomatic Relations: A Task for Non-Resident Nepali Association

By Ajay Pradhan | October 8, 2008

Canada does not have an embassy or even a consulate general in Kathmandu. Nepalis who wish to visit Canada have to submit their visa applications in New Delhi. Several years ago, the brother of a Nepali living in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb, applied for a visitor visa (Canadian government calls it Temporary Resident Visa) to come visit him, who was in hospital for a major surgery. The Canadian High Commission in New Delhi summoned him to the Indian capital for an interview. He had submitted with his application a letter from the sick brother's hospital, endorsing his application. The visa officer denied him visa. Reason? The visa officer said, no sufficient connection with Nepal. The brother applied again the next day, with no additional documentation. The High Commission invited him for another interview couple of days later. They granted him a visa. He spent six days in New Delhi.

A year later, another Nepali from Vancouver invited his mother-in-law and sister-in-law for a visit to Canada. They sent their visa applications to New Delhi from Kathmandu. The mother-in-law got her visa, without having to travel to New Delhi. However, the sister-in-law was asked to come for an interview in New Delhi. She was denied visa three times before being granted it the fourth time she submitted her application with additional documentation. The reason for visa denial was the same--no sufficient connection with Nepal. One piece of additional documentation she submitted the fourth time was a letter from this Vancouver Nepali, which made the case that the sister-in-law has a well-established family in Kathmandu and the temptation to default on her obligation to leave Canada at the end of the visa expiration date just did not exist.

Then there was a Nepali couple who was traveling to the United States as guests of a U.S.Congressman to attend an international event in Washington, D.C. The wife had a sister living in Richmond, another Vancouver suburb. The sister in Richmond had just given birth to a baby. It was a perfect time for the couple to extend their travel from the U.S. to Canada. A month before leaving for the U.S., they submitted their visa application at the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi in person. For the couple, to go to New Delhi wasn't much of a big deal as it was for the previous visitors, as they had a well established business in New Delhi. The visa officer denied them visa even upon resubmitting application for the third time. They traveled to Washington, D.C., hopeful that they'd be granted a Canadian visa if they applied in Washington, D.C. They were hopeful especially given the fact that they were guests of a U.S. Congressman. Guess what? They were denied visa there, too. Reason? Since the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi had already denied them visa, Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. would not consider revising the decision.

These are real examples and they defy logic of common sense. But, as much as they are deplorable, I'm not here to fight the discretionary powers of the visa officers in Canadian embassies around the world. The one singular point I want to make here is this--Nepali travelers who want to visit the U.S. have less hassle to go through in obtaining a U.S. visitor visa than those who want to travel to Canada. The reason is simple. Canada does not have an embassy or a consulate general in Kathmandu.

Having a Canadian embassy in Kathmandu has benefit not only for prospective Nepali travelers but also for those Nepalis who are Canadian residents or Canadian citizen who travel to Nepal. In February this year, I traveled to Nepal. A week before I was traveling back to Canada, I lost a briefcase with my Canadian travel documents. Without those travel documents, I wouldn't be able to return to Canada. So, I contacted the local Canadian Cooperation Office in Kathmandu to ask how I could obtain replacement travel documents. The CCO official told me it would take approximately 7 to 10 days to obtain such a document because the application for such a document would have to be sent to New Delhi. I did not have 7 days, let alone 10. Now, it's a different matter that I found the lost briefcase in time. I had left it in a taxicab. The cab driver had the good sense and honesty to go through the trouble of finding my address and bring it back to me. Needless to say, he received a reward and, more importantly, my gratitude. If there was a local Canadian embassy in Kathmandu, I would have likely obtained replacement travel documents on an emergency basis.

More involved diplomatic relations is important for Nepal politically, too. More intense diplomatic relations would enhance Nepal's image and its sovereignty in the international arena. It is through diplomatic relations that a country raises its international profile. Nepal needs to stand up with international partners and grow out of China-India spheres of influence. Because diplomacy works in reciprocity, Nepal should consider establishing an embassy in Canada or at least a consulate general. Then Nepal government should enter into dialog with Canadian government and invite Canadian diplomatic presence in Kathmandu.

Nepali social organizations in Canada have, on occasions, lobbied the federal government in Ottawa to establish a consulate general or at least a visa office in Kathmandu. I know that Nepal Cultural Society of British Columbia (NCSBC), for example, has lobbied Ottawa two-three times in the past years. Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) always sends a twin set of letters, one from the Minister of Foreign Affairs and another from the Minister of International Trade, with a stock answer: Canada has no plans of establishing a consulate general in Kathmandu at this time as it is not economically justifiable. It is incredible that a rich country like Canada uses such a feeble logic as a justification against opening a consulate general in a foreign country. Canada has a high commission (i.e., embassy) in New Delhi, and consulates general in Chandigarh, Chennai and Mumbai. Not many years ago, Indians in Canada successfully lobbied Ottawa to establish a consulate general in Chandigarh.

Of course, there are not as many Nepalis in Canada as there are Indians. So, this calls for pooling the strength of our Nepali diaspora in lobbying both the Canadian and Nepali governments to establish residential diplomatic presence in each other's capitals on the basis of reciprocity. For both countries it would be an investment worth its money.

The Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA), its international and national coordination councils, including the newly constituted NRN-Canada National Coordination Council should initiate a concerted campaign to lobby both Canadian and Nepali governments to step up their diplomatic presence in each other's capitals. NRNA should take this up as a priority task for 2009. It's time for NRNA to grow new wings and add diplomacy as a role for it to act on, in addition to philanthropy and foreign direct investment.

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