BABBLES

By Babbler   It was a pleasure for this Babbler to meet our old pal “Cocktail Man” after a long gap. We recalled those old days and incidents that had happened in the course of publishing this Weekly newspaper. “Cocktail Man” was a popular column that caught the attention of the diplomats who were in Kathmandu during those days. The “Cocktail Man” recalled one incident when he was shipping cocktail drinks with the then-British ambassador. The diplomat was happy that he thought he had not invited the “Cocktail Man” (assuming it was M.R. Josse, consultant editor of this Weekly) at that party. And the real Cocktail Man felt happy that at least he was able to make fool the diplomat! Golden airport The Tribhuvan International Airport has turned into the golden airport after smugglers were able to pass quintals of gold from there. When commoners who return home from abroad, are not allowed to carry two bottles of Scotch, two mobile phone sets, and a small quantity of gold, smugglers can pass quintals of gold without any hurdles. Indeed, Nepal has turned into a haven for those smugglers and brokers. One thing is clear, without political protection, those smugglers don’t invest billions of rupees or say, they don’t dare to risk such a hefty amount! Draught in Birgunj  People from Birgunj city are facing an acute shortage of water during the summer season. We can assume the plight of local people in Birgunj. Nevertheless, local people are responsible for inviting such an adverse situation. Deforestation, exploiting river products, abolishing traditional ponds and erection of concrete buildings are responsible for declining the level of groundwater. We know this fact but we are destroying nature and thus we have been punished. Digging ponds around the area and launching a tree plantation campaign around the Chure hills could end the drought and flood problem in the Tarai plains. Will people listen to us? QUOTES OF THE WEEK 10 Reasons Nepal is a Failed State
  1. No reliable industry of its own, no job, no self-dependency
  2. No FDI, no growth in the economy
  3. It imports 12 times more than it exports and survives on remittances.
  4. Its youths are the country’s only export
  5. Leaders are selfish, short-sighted and busy with self-enrichment.
  6. It has the most corrupted, venal and thuggish civil servants
  7. The army and the police forces are underpaid, inefficient, and corrupted.
  8. All of its public institutions, such as education, health, transport, the judiciary, finance, banking, and others, are crippled by cartels.
  9. It has over 30,000 INGOs working in the country, has opened more churches than schools, and no event ever happens here without outside help.
  10. Outside funds sponsor the media, intellectuals, and scholars; societies are divided into castes, religions, and political parties; Indians monopolize businesses and supplies; and all Nepali elites are sellouts.
Tim, I Gurung It took seven and a half months just to write one law. How much did the Parliamentarians spend in this period? Is it functional? Binod Neupane The provincial structures are useless. There has not been any discussion on the significance of such a large House of Representatives and the National Assembly. The National Assembly should be scrapped, and the size of the House of Representatives should be reduced. Rajendra Lingden  Our geopolitics is run by China, India, America, and the EU; the economy is operated by the World Bank and IMF; state mechanism is run by NGOs and INGOs; business is run by middlemen and brokers! The job of political leaders is to enjoy salary and allowances from the state coffer and patronise corruption! Binod Neupane
  1. P. (Koirala) never raised the issue of secularism. Federalism was not on his agenda. He was in favour of constitutional monarchy until his last breath. The concept of kingship was so strong in his view that he never thought about its alternative. He always felt that nationalism cannot be safeguarded in the absence of a monarchy. Mahendra jailed him for eight years and he was self-exiled to foreign soil, even though, he always advocated in favour of monarchy. He did so by knowing the significance of this institution. Krishna Prasad Bhattarai and Ganeshman Singh also had the belief in monarchy. When NC gave up the three fundamental agendas, Bhattarai even quit the party.
Prakash Koirala The contribution of the present “offensive system”: Collapse of the universities and job market and all the youths going abroad. Apil Gurung Demanding caste-based states but removing the identity of a Hindu nation in a country having a Hindu population of above 80 per cent! Saying a nation will not have a religion, then whether the nation has a caste? Kunwar Sarkar Your federalism has become a burden for us, take it back and return us to our constitutional monarchy! Teknarayan Dayalu Poudel  Excerpted and translated by Sushma Shrestha