Paras Should Be Made An Example Of.

Paras should be made an example of.

The Nepali justice system, police and democracy in Nepal have a great opportunity staring at at them. They have in there hands a high profile drama. The arrest of Paras Shah and his admission that he fired a shot in anger with a unauthorized firearm clearly puts the law in favor of those charging him. The government and political entities can get involved and completely humiliate the former royals and treat this a lesson to be taught to them. Or they can go a completely different route and drop the case because it is so controversial. Either of these options makes a lot of political sense. The former in its action and the latter in its inaction guarantee political brownie points. By taking the first course the parties can reignite the wanning anti-royal sentiment, and by taking the second they can avoid having yet another problem to deal with, and ensure peace in the country.

Or it can pursue a third course;a much radical path for a country like Nepal. It can make a example of him. A public display of the entire situation; making an example of how unlawful activity is handled in a sensible country. An example of justice. The people in the government and other political parties should stay away from the issue and let the police and the courts handle it. They should allow justice to take its course in a swift and fair manner. And even if the parties comment on it its acceptable, but the courts should remain clear of its purpose, the police should hold on to its principles, and the journalist to there. Let all citizen know that there is still hope for a fair trial, and rule of law in the land. Treat him no better or worse than any other citizen of Nepal. Send a message through this saga that if Paras can be treated with respect and in accordance to the law then all citizen will be subject to the same standards. Lady Justice is supposedly blind - this would be a good time to reassure us of it.

On the other hand Paras Shah and other royals should recognize that he cannot hide behind his family name anylonger.They are not politically special anymore. If given a fair trial and fair judgement for his actions he too should set an example and accept the verdict. if he is unsatisfied with the verdict challenge it in the courts. Further he should stop using nationalistic sentiments as shameful excuse to cover his drunk actions.

This sudden wave of support Paras is receiving is surprising. Supporters argue that his action is justifiable because he got up to defend the honor of the country. Nonsense! Absolute bull feces! A monkeys red arse! Nonsense, not because I doubt his patriotism, but because that is not what a patriotic action looks like. If every citizen were allowed to use violence against those who speaks against Nepal we would have a lot of bloodshed on our hands. Violent action could be justifiable by this "saving the honor of Nepal" excuse. Do we really want to set such a precedence. Such an excuse is not only laughable but also undemocratic. A person, regardless of his nationality, should have the right to say what he wants. Rubel Choudhary, the Bangladeshi citizen, might have used distasteful words against Nepal. He might have even called us a country of idiots, run for idiots, by idiots. He might have gone far enough to suggest that Nepal and Nepalis are good for nothing. Most insulting indeed but does this give all Nepali citizen to fire at him, or atleast punch him where it hurts most? Absolutely not.Yes, they where distastful, and yes they where hurtful, but thats the price you pay for living in a democracy. Thats the beautiful cost of freedom of speech. You dont have to agree with it, you can even mad about it, but you do have to allow it. Suppose I where to call Bangladesh a country of fish eating cowards who wouldn't have acheived there independence without India and especially General Sam Manesksaw and his Gurkha solider, I am guessing some Bangladeshis are going to be upset. Are my words insulting- yes. Would it be justified for a Bangladeshi to come and kick me. Absolutly not.

Here lies another opportunity for setting another example. Let all the people of the world know that Nepal is a becon of free speech, it is a place where regardless of nationalisty, color,sex and sexual orientation people can come an express themselves and go unhurt and unafraid. A place where I can say what I want and not be afraid of violent repercussions.

Ultimetlty this drama will lose steam. People will move on. The question now remains will people move on knowing they live in a just and reasonable society, or will they move on knowing that the laws that govern this country are so shady that all hope is lost.

Arrest order for WikiLeaks' Assange - Europe - Al Jazeera English

Arrest order for WikiLeaks' Assange - Europe - Al Jazeera English

Is it just me or does some else also smell the stench of conspiracy in this? Julian Assange, the Australian founder of the whistleblower website WikiLeaks to be arrested for sexual harassment and rape accusations. His lawyer, and thousand others ( including myself) do not think it is proportional to demand his arrest just to interrogate him. Don't get me wrong if the accusation are serious then by all means interrogate him. Issuing an arrest order puts the credibility and the intention of the entire process under question.

Its a strange world!!!


Its time we rethink how the world works. A reevaluation of what we think is right and what is wrong. About the things that matter beyond the i-pad and the Dolce and Gabana. Is this what being human really is? Humanity is not something you do, it is something you live. Its a unfair world when pets are being treated better than 2/3rd of humanity.

Photograph by Kevin Carter. He committed suicide 16 months after taking this picture



Image provided by blog.pawshpal.com

Sri Lanka set for constitution vote - Central & South Asia - Al Jazeera English

Sri Lanka set for constitution vote - Central & South Asia - Al Jazeera English

a perfect example of the one man thinks he knows the best for the nation. How one man is arrogant enough to think that out of all the people in the world him and him alone has the capability to led the nation in the "postwar" period. And that people have a problem with him seeking a third term not because hes raping democracy before our eyes, or even because hes acting like a pompous ignorant , no people have a problem because of his background...yes everyone is as shallow as you.
All the best Sri Lanka...the war might be over but this non retiring self proclaimed savior of your nation is gonna create a whole new set of problems.
Speak Out for Democracy and the rule of law.

A hundred years from today

think about it.



A Hundred Years from Today

-by Rabindranath Tagore

A hundred years from today
who are you, sitting, reading a poem of mine,
under curiosity’s sway -
a hundred years from today?

Not the least portion
of this young spring’s morning bliss,
neither blossom nor birdsong,
nor any of its scarlet splashes
can I drench in passion
and despatch to your hands
a hundred years hence!

Yet do this, please: unlatch your south-faced door,
just sit at your window for once;
basking in fantasy, eyes on the far horizon,
figure out if you can:
how one day a hundred years back
roving delights in a free fall from a heavenly region
had touched all that there was -
the infant Phalgun day, utterly free,
was frenzied, all agog,
while borne on brisk wings, the south wind
pollen-scent-brushed
had suddenly arrived and in a flash dyed the earth
with all youth’s hues
a hundred years before your day.

There lived then a poet, ebullient of spirit,
his heart steeped in song,
who wanted to open his words like so many flowers
with so much passion
one day a hundred years back.

A hundred years from today
who is the new poet
whose songs flow through your homes?
To him I convey
this springtime’s gladsome greetings.
May my vernal song find its echo for a moment
in your spring day
in the throbbing of your hearts, in the buzzing of your bees,
in the rustling of your leaves
a hundred years from today.

This poem written in 1896 by Rabindranath Tagore(1861-1941) Indian poet, playwright, internationalist,painter and essayist;won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. He was knighted in 1915--but, after the massacre in India in 1919, gave up his knighthood in protest.

On Nepal and its need to buck up.

I may have gone beyond the limitations permitted by philosophers and logic while searching for an appropriate analogy; yet, as with individuals, nation states too are incomplete, unsafe, and in a serious threat of failure without defining for themselves a national identity. I see this dynamic process of identity formation as a process consisting of three very important aspects: a) tradition, b) vision, c) and social conditions. I am in no manner arguing that identity formation happens exclusively through these three ways- much seasoned and wiser people may disagree- what I am saying though is that these three forces must be considered while shaping up the national identity. Another important feature of shaping the national identity is that because it is a concept that is so reliant on, what we call ,the aam Jaanta ( the common man) the citizens of the nation are participatory members ( voluntarily or involuntarily) of the process.

Nepal is in a strange conundrum regardless itself. Either Nepal needs to come out of the closet that our vision less leaders have forced us into, or be prepared die a slow suffocated death as a nation. Let all be clear about one thing, Nepal as a sovereign nation stands no chance in the international arena if it does not strengthen its weak national roots. No country harboring within itself the flimsy doubt of who it is has been able to stand the inevitable test of time and the inevitable notions of separatist aspirations. So let us first see whether or not, Nepal as it stands today has a strong national identity in terms of the aforementioned aspects.

Traditionally, because of the short sightedness of the fools “leading” our nation ( to god only knows where) we have been left to wonder where we find our roots. We have been left seeking our national soul amongst the glorious mountains, and beautiful plain; and although it sounds amazing, these have led us to neglect the great tradition of philosophical and spiritual development that we were a part of. India has unjustly hogged the glory of all ancient Hindu scriptures and knowledge by claiming it as exclusively its own, leaving us with only high mountains, beautiful landscape, couple of ancient temples and an apathetic debate over Buddha to seek our national soul from. I say India has hogged the glory of the ancient Sanatan Dharam because I believe, she as a nation-state does not have a monopoly over it. India as it exists today did not exist in the days of the past. The Vedas, the Upanisads, the Gita, the Ramayan is as much ours as Indias’, as a matter of fact, it is as much Sri Lanka’s, and Bangladesh’s, and Pakistan’s as ours and India’s. The greatness of this legacy is a shared heritage of the Indian subcontinent as whole- regardless of present day national boundaries. A very significant chunk of the Vedantic and Buddhist philosophy found it birth in the present day India but claiming it solely of India( as we define it today) would we wrong.

In terms of vision, Nepal lacks both the ingredients that can lead a nation to know itself: visionaries and a vision. Great nations that have survived myriad of political crisis have done so because they had a number of great thinkers who could provide a blue print for the nation; India with its great thinkers like Tagore and Gandhi, America with its Jefferson, Madison and Lincoln have shown us that all nations need a vision. This vision needs to be debated by all, and is dynamic in nature. Nepal embarrassingly lacks this. Firstly, there is no vision worth debating and secondly, even if there is a debate worthy vision no serious debate takes place because we have no means of doing so.

Finally, the national identity of a nation depends heavily on the social conditions of the people, in other words the ground reality. Social conditions of the nation provide a reality check to empty dreamers as well as a chance to aam janta to shape the will of the nation. But the social condition needs to be evaluated, it needs to be studied and understood- a colossal task.

What I am saying is Nepal needs an insurgency of new thinkers soon or Nepals days as a nation-state are unfortunately numbered.

The Whore and I

I lay awake
on the roof
as Kathmandu slept in thirst.
My alert twisting and turning on the cold cement
disturbing
the street whores
privacy.

She was up, like me, to find some peace
in the soothing night;
away from the relentless
bickering of
idle know its alls
in the nooky tea stalls
and unemployed dream makers.

I, having apologized for my manners,
seduced her to accompany me that night
to spectator the glory of the lifeless city
Hiding its ugliness under the burkka
of corrupt street lights.

We exchanged glances over
the snores of the crowded city.
And like the much laughed ancients we fell in love,
Only through the shy glances in the beautifying dark.

My sweetheart and I romanced.
The blank paint overwhelmed
the still surprised roads,
the stone eyed children,
the moody garbage- that decides to stay
a few days longer,
the random reflection of the rooted stars,
and the chaos that we had come to accept
as a part of our charm.

In the cool night
we cozzied in the theater
of my roof
and her street.
Naively basking in the moonless sky,
ogling at our perfect city
Until unkindly awakened by the
the bloody heat
that washed the makeup off my city’s face
to expose ,to that bitch and me,
the flaws in our world.