Submit your Article

How do you identify someone as a Nepali citizen? Do they have to look a certain way, carry certain surnames, speak certain tongues, and have certain biological attributes? Why do we so easily embrace Prashant Tamang (an Indian national) and Dibesh Pokharel (now an American one), yet shun another equally talented singer Preeti Kaur, who has not gotten Nepali citizenship despite being born in Nepal four decades ago and despite being married to a Nepali national? Perhaps she was born into the wrong gender, came with a wrong skin tone, and bore the wrong surname. Not that Tamang or Pokharel are now Nepali citizens or Kaur can’t ever be one. It’s more a question of the mindset of our lawmakers. 

An amendment to the citizenship law stipulates that a woman married to a Nepali man must live in Nepal for at least seven years to be eligible for citizenship. With a Nepali woman married to a foreign man, the latter has no chance of ever getting a Nepali citizenship. True, nearly all countries have restrictions on citizenship, including cooling-off periods. A person who has identified as a citizen of one country all her life cannot shift her loyalty to another country she marries into overnight. But why seven years? The common answer is that India has the same provision. This is dubious. Most of us who identify as the most patriotic Nepalis are also often the most strident anti-Indians. Yet when drafting the country’s most important laws, we nonchalantly borrow from the south. 

Seven years is a long time. If we are a progressive country, why can’t our ideal be, say, Canada (three years for naturalization) rather than India? It is also misogynistic to dissuade, even implicitly, Nepali women from marrying the men of their choice. Whatever gloss they may try to put over it, this is a sign that our predominantly male parliament still believes in inherent superiority of men over women and is thus looking to preserve the age-old patriarchal privileges. The proposed amendments to the citizenship law are in violation of the constitutional norm that proscribes discriminations based on caste, gender and ethnicity. Nepal has made some progress in gender equality in recent times. But it is far from an equal place for men and women. 

Your lockdown experience in three words?

Essentials, self-realization, philanthropy.

Your greatest achievement?

Never giving up on my passion is what I’d say has been my greatest achievement. Besides bringing some amazing international artists to Nepal, I won the Global Students Entrepreneurs Awards for two consecutive years and then bagged the second position in the third year. 

If you could trade lives with someone for a day, who would it be and why?

Jeff Bezos. We have our families and everything else can be bought with money. 

The most rewarding professional advice you ever got?

Try it. What’s the worst that can happen?

Ideal date: Movie night or stand-up comedy?

I’d do both. Haha. But yeah, standup first.

If you could be from any other decade (or era), which would it be?

I was born in the 90’s and I’d gladly stick to it.

What one thing would you definitely put in your bucket list?

I want to experience all types of music festivals around the globe. It’s a never-ending thing, but yeah.

One international artist you’d love to bring to Nepal, if budget was not an issue?

Metallica, for sure 

How long do you think before we can start clubbing again?

Best case would be end of the year.

How’re you working at a time the entertainment industry is in a shambles?

I have been taking care of my other businesses. I recently started an e-commerce website called “Asan Bajar” too and am planning events in advance for next year.

On June 1, Chuhan Singh Nepali, 48, came back to his village from India’s Dharchula where he worked as a laborer. He appeared normal when he was sent to a quarantine facility established at Janajyoti Basic School at Tikapur-2 of Kailali district. But a few days in, he started behaving differently. Now, after the two-week mandatory quarantine, he keeps staring at things and looks depressed. He cannot sleep at night.

Chuhan lives in a landless squatter settlement at Ganeshpur in the district, and he is among many Nepalis in the area who look after their families with money saved in India. Most of them work as daily-wage laborers. Many of them look mentally disturbed these days.

Bikash BK, 28, who is in the same quarantine, is also having mental issues. He often loses his temper. He has beaten his wife several times in the past few days after he returned from India’s Dehradun, accompanied by his wife and two kids. Once, he tried to run away with the kids, leaving the wife behind.

“Chuhan does not talk to others, and remains withdrawn. His behavior has changed a lot,” says Ranjita Chaudhary, a health worker. “He comes to us complaining of headache. But before we can give him a medicine, he leaves, saying he is fine.”

Jagat Damai, 50, who returned from Hyderabad, was sent to the quarantine facility at Tikapur Polytechnic Institute at Tikapur-1. Within two days, he was behaving strangely. He has already tried to jump off the stairs of the building. He keeps talking nonsense and often cries or yells. Sometimes he does not hear what others say. Ramrati Chuadhary, a health worker at the quarantine, observes: “He has troubled us all. He often asks for tranquilizers.” According to her, people who have spent many weeks in the lockdown in India, and are now having to do the same in Nepal, are showing such strange symptoms.

Many of those returning from India are worried about the absence of Covid-19 tests, besides the economic and social stigma they have to face. These people mostly hail from lower-middle class families and loss of their livelihood is an obvious reason for their distress. As Chaudhary puts it, “Daily wage laborers who have to earn each day’s meal are the worst hit. Due to stress, they have lost their sleep and appetite. They get easily irritated.”

Dharma Singh Batala, public health inspector at Tikapur Municipality, reckons the quarantined people are showing signs of depression due to fears caused by negative thoughts and lack of knowledge. “They don’t get proper counselling about what may happen. They are not able to meet their families, and fear social stigmatization when they return home.”

Those in the quarantine get free wi-fi. And there are health workers to give them basic medicines. But these health workers are not trained in mental counselling. “If they had basic counselling skills, it would be of immense help,” Batala adds. “Often the quarantined people cannot describe what’s happening to them. That makes things difficult for us.”

The government has a plan to gradually open up the country from Covid-19 lockdown in three phases. But even in Phase I, bar education institutions and public transport, most of the country is already open for business. People have started crowding, and many have ditched their masks and hand sanitizers, as if they are now out of danger. In fact, the danger to Nepali lives and livelihoods from Covid-19 has never been greater. The number of corona-positive folks is rising exponentially, and so are related health complications. Yet most people have had enough of the lockdowns. 

Around the world, wherever lockdowns have been relaxed, from the US to Germany, the Covid-19 infections, serious illnesses, and deaths have all shot up. Even China is seeing a troubling uptick in Covid-19 cases—when the country was thought to have largely gotten over the pandemic. In India, as of this writing, nearly 400,000 had corona and close to 13,000 people had died. The stream of Nepali migrant workers in India trying to return to their homeland has remained steady, and they continue to bring the virus along. Meanwhile, most of the lockdown restrictions in Nepal have been lifted. 

There are now over 7,200 corona-positive cases in Nepal and at least 20 deaths. Nepali epidemiologists say this is just the tip of the iceberg; most cases remain hidden because of the paucity of Covid-19 test kits. The virus is silently spreading. Yet people are now moving around and working as if everything is hunky-dory. Confining people to their homes for months on end is never easy. And they are justifiably frustrated. Yet a lot more could have been done to mitigate corona’s impact. 

The federal government has shown shocking neglect in its handling of the crisis. Corruption and mismanagement have marred its efforts to import vital test kits and protective material for health professionals. The communication, from the prime minister down, has been abysmal too. KP Oli claims, without a shred of scientific proof, that Nepalis are naturally immune to Covid-19. Many have taken him literally, to their peril. This is no joke. If complications and deaths shoot up, is the PM ready to take responsibility? And what good will admission of his wrong do when the damage is done? If the government does not correct its mistakes and cannot regain public faith over its handling of the pandemic, the Covid-19 crisis could soon spiral out of our control. 

This is good news for fitness enthusiasts the world over. As fitness trackers and smart-bands get ever popular and become essential for a healthy life, there’s a new range of fitness bands. They could be game-changers in the already competitive market for affordable wearable technology.

Following on the footsteps of other smartphone manufacturers, Chinese OEM OPPO has recently launched its own fitness band: the new OPPO Band is a premium offering that features a 1.1-inch AMOLED display in a pill-shaped body. The display is covered with a 2.5D scratch-resistant glass and covers 100 percent of the P3 color gamut for accurate color reproduction.

Although available only in China right now, at the starting price of CNY 199 ($28), the OPPO Band does pack in almost everything one would expect from a premium fitness band—including continuous blood oxygen monitoring for up to 480 minutes/28,800 times, sleep tracking, 12 different sports modes, continuous heart rate monitoring, over 160 watch faces, NFC support, and 5ATM water resistance. A 100mAh battery powers the fitness band and is rated for 14 days of use on a single 1.5-hour charge.

The OPPO Band is being offered in three variants—the vanilla OPPO Band, a Fashion edition, and an EVA limited edition—all under $50 market price.

Although the company has not announced a worldwide launch, considering OPPO’s recent expansions into the Indian and European market, it is expected to be available soon globally.

What is the first thing you did when the lockdown eased ? 

I rushed to my office. I was so eager to restart my business.

Do you think the pandemic has changed your life?

It surely has. I learnt to value so many things in which I used to take for granted.

Something you have been doing the most often during the lockdown? 

Painting, singing and getting fat. Haha.

A movie/series you would suggest for the lockdown?

The “Black Mirror” series. Each episode has a different story. This is good for impatient people like me who can’t watch the regular, long series.

Have you read anything lately? Would you suggest it?

 “The Art of Happiness” by HH 14th Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler

Best music to listen to during the lockdown?

Tool’s fifth studio album, “Fear Inoculum”

How do you work out during the lockdown? 

After gaining so much weight, a friend of mine suggested some workout videos by Lilly Sabri on YouTube. 

If not at home, where would you preferably be locked down?

Office. I love my job. 

If you were to be locked down with a Nepali celebrity for 21 days, who would it be?

I haven’t met Priyanka Karki after her wedding in February. And since she is my closest friend, I would love to be with her in the lockdown. Plus, she's a great cook.

One dish you wouldn’t mind eating every day during the lockdown?

Nothing can beat “Daal, Bhaat, Tarkari” and “Golveda ko achar.”

Even as there are heated discussions over Indian occupation of Limpiyadhura and Kalapani, those are not the only Nepali territories that India has encroached. There are about 174 hectares of Nepali land in the eastern Jhapa district that India has gradually captured by moving the border pillars. As a result, Nepal has lost areas in Pathamari, Mahespur, Mechipul, Bhadrapur, Galgalia border, Kakadvitta, Barishjot, Madanjot, Nakalabanda, Bahundandi, and a village across the Mechi River.

According to border expert Raj Kumar Pokharel, Nepal government had given land-ownership certificates to its citizens living in those areas in 1965; Indians started capturing them starting 1988.

There were some pieces of land that Nepal and India had agreed to provisionally give to local occupants on the condition that their ownership would be finalized later. But India has already captured those areas. Besides, Indian citizens have started farming on areas that clearly fall under Nepal. Nepali and Indian border agencies have already had a number of discussions to settle the farming issue.  

Twenty-five Nepali houses in the Dulu village across Mechi Rivar in Bhadrapur Municipality, 20 houses in Pathamari area of Kechanakawal Rural Municipality, and over a dozen houses in Bhansa Khola area are without land ownership certificates. These households have been asking government authorities to give them a clear word on their nationality.

People living there remember their lands as always belonging to Nepal. The pillars installed by Rana Prime Minister Junga Bahadur Rana based on Sugauli Treaty have traditionally served as the border between the two countries. There are 988 such pillars in Jhapa district alone.

“Earlier, we did without a land ownership certificate as there was no need to sell our land. We were fine farming without a certificate,” says Sanjib Thapa of Bhansa Khola. “In 1995, the Indian forces started coming to our courtyards for land demarcation. Only then did we realize that our lands had already gone to India.”

Locals say India installed new pillars in 1988, making their lands as Indian territories. India has given ration cards to the locals, which, according to border expert Pokharel, is a plot to lay claim Indian ownership. “Nepal is unknowingly losing its territory,” he says.

Says Noor Alam of Pathamari in Kechanakawal: “Since the times my parents came to settle down here, there has never been any doubt that this is Nepali land. We also have land ownership certificate. I have Nepali citizenship based on this certificate. Now they say this land belongs to India.”

Indian authorities come to inspect border areas once a week. But the Nepali side is oblivious. Says Jinat Ganesh of Mechipari: “We don’t know what happened in the past. But now India has been building huts in the Nepali land to lay their claim. There are people living in those huts. Nepali officials never show any concern.”

Auto technology major Bosch has developed a new emergency call system for motorcycles, called Help Connect. The system automatically sends out an alert to emergency services in the event of an accident. Bosch says the system can cut the response time of emergency services by as much as half.

The Bosch Help Connect system features an ‘intelligent crash algorithm’ installed in the motorcycle’s inertial sensor unit. The system, along with the Bosch Motorcycle Stability Control (MSC), measures acceleration and angular velocity 100 times a second. In the case of an accident, the system detects the sudden change in speed and angular position of the motorcycle, and automatically sends out an alert via the Bosch Vivatar smartphone app. The Help Connect sends the rider’s exact GPS location and other details to the Bosch Service Center, which then relays the information to emergency services. 

Bosch, for now, has introduced the Help Connect system for customers in Germany.