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The government has formed a high-level commission to probe the killing of two young men—Birendra Shah and Sujan Raut—in a clash between South Korea job aspirants and police in  Balkumari, Lalitpur, on Friday.   

The three-member panel was formed following a nationwide outrage by the incident, which not only exposed a severe communication lapse between the law enforcement agency and the district administration office, but also the lack of restraint within the police force.   

A day after the incident, the government suspended the chief district officer and the police chief of Lalitpur. But this knee-jerk reaction without presenting any concrete evidence has ignited a blame game among government agencies, instead of an earnest quest for truth and accountability.

While the government has made a perfunctory gesture of providing Rs 1m each to the grieving families, the demand for truth and justice remains unmet. Meanwhile, pressure is mounting on Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha to resign on moral grounds. 

“It is futile to take action against police officers, the home minister should take responsibility and resign,”  said UML lawmaker Rajendra Rai. He added that the investigation commission can work independently only after the home minister has stepped down.  

Another UML lawmaker Krishna Gopal Shrestha also echoed Rai’s sentiment. He said the moral responsibility for the Balkumari tragedy falls squarely on the shoulders of Home Minister Shrestha.  

This call for resignation, however, faces resistance in a political landscape where officials are more inclined to deflect blame than admit mistakes. This call for resignation, however, faces resistance in a political landscape where officials are more inclined to deflect blame than admit mistakes.

A government official, let alone a minister, resigning out of moral conscience is unheard of in Nepal. They would rather put the blame on others than admit to their own mistake.  

Days have passed since the tragic incident, yet a clear narrative remains elusive. Conflicting reports suggest that the security personnel opened fire either in response to protesters setting fire to the car of Transport Minister Prakash Jwala or before such an incident occurred. Amidst the confusion, it's evident that communication failures between the police and the minister's security officer played a pivotal role.

Transport Minister Jwala's changing statements further muddy the waters, as he initially denied being in the car during the incident, only to later acknowledge it when video footage surfaced where protesters are seen taking control of his car and forcing him to come out. It is clear that the minister tried to lie about him not being in the car to keep himself out of the incident, because police have been saying that the situation escalated due to the minister’s arrival at the scene of the protest.    

Nepal Police chief Basanta Bahadur Kunwar told the Parliamentary Committee for State Affairs and Good Governance that the incident could have been averted if minister Jawala had not used the route where the protest was happening. But he had no clear response on why and when his officers resorted to firing upon the protesters. 

The parliamentary committee has instructed the government to investigate if and how minister Jwala’s car passing through the protest area made the situation worse. 

“The Parliament wants to know the exact role minister Jwala had played in this incident,” demanded Ram Hari Khatiwada, the committee chair. 

The committee also inquired Home Minister Shrestha about the Balkumari incident. He vowed to the committee that his ministry would take necessary action against the responsible party based on the findings of the high-level probe commission. 

But there is little optimism that the commission’s report will be revelatory, or identify the individuals truly responsible for the incident. Whenever the government forms a high-level investigation commission in Nepal, historically, it has turned out to be a diversion tactic to steer the public attenuation. After all, the reports of several high-level probe panels are yet to be made public.  

Additionally, there is a high chance of such panels failing to do their work in a fair and independent manner due to the influence of the political parties. The high-level probe commission formed to investigate the gold smuggling case from the Tribhuvan International Airport is one shining example. The commission, formed three months ago, is yet to prepare its report. Besides forming the commission, the government has not taken any measures to control gold smuggling. 

Even in those cases where the probe panels have submitted their reports, there is no single instance of the government taking action based on the recommendations of those reports.  

Balaram KC, former Supreme Court justice, said the government is simply trying to pacify the agitated society by forming the probe panel.

“In Nepal, we form a high-level probe panel for every case, which you do not see in other countries. Highly powered panels are only formed in rare and immensely significant cases,” said KC. “Our tendency to rely on high-level commissions clearly shows that the rule of law is not working.” 

Govt, victims’ families sign four-point deal

A four-point agreement has been reached between the government and the families of Birendra Shah and Sujan Raut, who were killed in police shooting in Balkumari, Lalitpur

, on Friday. As per the agreement, the government will provide employment to one member of each family, facilitate the provision of additional relief and take the initiative to declare the deceased as martyrs.

It is mentioned in the letter of agreement that the Ministry of Home Affairs will arrange for the bodies of the deceased to be taken to the respective districts. The agreement was signed by Umakant Adhikari, the Under Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs on behalf of the Government of Nepal, and Tek Bahadur Shah, the father Shah, and Tek Bahadur Katuwal, on behalf of Raut.

“Nepal has many histories. It has histories of the Malla era and the Shah era, but a comprehensive history of the country is lacking. So, there is no history uniting the Mechi in the east Mechi with Mahakali in the west….” This is the gist of what the renowned historian Surya Vikram Gyawali said to Kedar Man Vyathit right after the latter’s appointment as the Chancellor of Nepal Rajkiya Pragya Pratishthan about 54 years ago in his capacity as a member of the Pratishthan, stressing the need to connect the Nepalis with the history of Nepal.

Even after the erstwhile Royal Nepal Academy got a new name, Nepal Prajna Pratishthan, after a wave of political changes that occurred about 17 years ago, Gyawali’s words remain relevant. 

Fifty-four years later, Gyan Vallabh Jwala, who was with the academy back then, cited this communication at a program that Pashupati Area Development Trust had organized recently to collect opinions from scholars for the establishment of a Shri Pashupati Hindu University. 

Gyawali’s communication with Vyathit features in ‘Vichar-patra’ of a committee formed to step up preparations for the establishment of the university and also in this journalist’s recently completed MPhil dissertation. 

My research is based on a unique perspective of Professor Harold A Innis, a Canadian scholar associated with communication theory, in particular ‘The Bias of Communication’ and ‘Time-Biased Communication’. This theory is based on the premise that the identity of a nation is built upon its own cultural heritages and civilizations. 

So, the plans for the development of a Shri Pashupati Hindu University have this journalist naturally elated. Indeed,  the Pashupatinath Temple, a UNESCO world heritage site, is one of the several religious-cultural-spiritual heritages that makes Nepal known to the world. If the university manages to emerge as the very best among similar other institutions in due course of time, with support from the government and other stakeholders, it will further boost Nepal’s image globally. 

At this point, it will be contextual to quote the author Stephen R Covey. He says, “What you do with what you know is far more important than what you know. If you do not use what you know, you can forget it or lose it. To share what you know is like planting a seed. If you plant a seed in the soil, it will germinate in the soil, grow in the field, and go to another place, and it will not die. If you throw it in the mud, it will rot, and if you throw it elsewhere, it will dry up. The seed will not germinate.” 

This statement points out the need to apply the acquired knowledge in the right time and place for desired outcomes. In the ocean-like span of Pashupatinath, my research may be a drop of water, but then drops of water collected from various pilgrimages have significant worth, don’t they? 

Also, let me recall a high-level promise to accelerate the process of establishing a Children's Literature Institute in Nepal. This wonderful plan is getting nowhere, with the ministry concerned not bothering to take initiative toward this end. 

But the proposed university should not suffer the same fate. 

Active involvement of the President in this project has given a glimmer of hope and so has the Culture Minister’s remarks implying that the government has attached due importance to the project. 

If the university materializes and, in course of time, manages to establish itself as a reputed institution, it may not even need government funding, for it can generate enough revenues by drawing students from far and wide, making it a self-sustaining institution.  

The onus is on the government and other stakeholders to turn this wonderful plan into reality. 

As we step into 2024, it's crucial to reflect on the tumultuous journey of 2023, a year marked by degeneration and pessimism for major political parties — the Nepal Congress, CPN-UML, and CPN (Maoist Center). These parties faced strong criticism from both their cadres and the public at large, revealing a deep-seated dissatisfaction with their performance.

Sher Bahadur Deuba, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and KP Sharma Oli, who are at the helm of these parties, find themselves wrestling with tarnished public images and a looming sense of party fragility.

At the start of the year, the Nepali Congress worked hard to dismantle the alliance between the Maoist and UML. By throwing its support behind Dahal as prime minister, NC succeeded in positioning itself as a key coalition player. The elevation of Ram Chandra Poudel as the country's president further solidified its influence. While these accomplishments are touted as major wins, the party struggles to instill hope and optimism among its ranks, contending with persistent intra-party rifts and organizational challenges.

Deuba continued to prevail in the party’s decision making process. Despite being a dominant power in all three levels of government, leaders and cadres largely feel that the party is on a downward journey. They are of the view that people are gradually losing their confidence in the major parties due to the government’s failure to deliver.

In the face of this, a disconcerting trend emerges—local-level leaders and cadres are feeling the heat from new parties and the resurgence of royalist forces. The once-enthusiastic cadres are noticeably absent from party activities, even as the leadership attempts to renew active memberships. 

A senior NC leader said that though the party has launched a campaign of renewing membership, a large chunk of cadres has not shown interest in it. This is very concerning for the future of the party.

The call for a special campaign to breathe life into the party structures falls on deaf ears, further fueling concerns about the party's downward trajectory. In order to provide an ideological and organizational guideline, the NC was supposed to organize its much-awaited Mahasamiti meeting, but it has been postponed time and again. This year, the party also saw the emergence of a third faction led by youth leaders including Gururaj Ghimire and Madhu Acharya. The faction has been running parallel activities inside the party.

This is not a good sign for the NC, which is already grappling with factionalism. Senior leader Shekhar Koirala and General Secretary Gagan Kumar Thapa are competing to wrest the reins of power from Deuba, whose supporters dominate the party committees.  The rivalry between senior Koirala and Thapa has further affected the party’s organization. 2023 was also the year the NC saw one of its influential leaders Bal Krishna Khand arrested in the fake Bhutanese refugee scandal. It was a serious blow to the party’s public image. Khand’s arrest also raised fear among several other leaders who were allegedly involved in corruption activities in the past. 

The internal strife within the Congress is not unique; the UML also grapples with its share of setbacks. Losing power both at the center and in provincial governments, the party attempts to rejuvenate itself in the face of challenges from emerging parties. Throughout the year, the party tried to dismantle the current government by offering premiership to NC, but to no avail.

Soon after the elections, the UML launched a grassroots campaign in order to resolve the party's internal problems and other issues.  At the end of the year, it launched the Sankalpa Yatra (Resolution March),  which covered the mid-hill districts of Nepal. According to the UML, the march helped to counter forces that have ramped up their activities in recent years. But the truth is despite the hard efforts, the party still faces significant challenges. The "Mission-84" initiative signals a renewed focus on the elections to be held in 2084 BS (2027), with aspirations to emerge as the largest party. However, corruption scandals involving senior leaders cast a shadow over their efforts.

On the Maoist front, 2023 witnessed a lack of substantive change. While the party launched a nationwide campaign to bolster organizational strength, the notable absence of leaders and cadres raised eyebrows. Despite facing criticism, Dahal's dominance within the party stifles significant dissent against the government.

In essence, 2023 posed significant threats to the major parties. Despite holding onto power, a pervasive sense of vulnerability lingers. The specter of the 2027 national elections looms large, and the three parties feel that regressive forces are actively trying to dismantle the 2015 constitution. 

As we step into 2024, the apathy of top leaders in mending their ways suggests a continuity of challenges. The failing performance of the Dahal-led government on economic and other fronts is poised to escalate people's frustration, further eroding the major political parties' standing. The year ahead will be critical for the three major parties, as they will have to resolve their own internal disputes as well as work with renewed vigor to meet the aspirations of the people.

Some books never leave your mind. You see their spine on the bookshelf and are transported back to that time and space. You remember how you felt while reading it. ‘The Missing’ by Chris Mooney is one of those books for me. I had to sleep with the lights on after finishing the book. I must have recommended it to all of my reader friends and they too had similar reactions. It’s horrifying. It’s so good.

Mooney is the critically acclaimed author of Deviant Ways, World Without End, and Remembering Sarah, which was nominated for the Barry Award and the Edgar Award for Best Novel. Mooney’s other works are also equally terrifying and I love many more titles apart from The Missing. But The Missing is my favorite because it was my first time reading the author and I wasn’t prepared for what was coming. I later found out that it was also the first book in the CSI Darby McCormick series.

Specific scenes of the book still make me shudder. I decided to reread it to see if it still evokes the same feelings as it did a decade ago when I first read it. It was every bit as satisfying. Mooney is a great storyteller with a special penchant for crafting characters you will come to love and then throwing them into highly unlikely and unsettling scenarios. Something about it just makes your heart race. You feel for these people and become invested in the story.

CSI Darby McCormick finds an emaciated woman hiding at a kidnap site. DNA tests confirm she is the same woman who has been missing for five years. She has somehow managed to escape the dungeon in which she had been held captive. Then a teenage girl goes missing and Darby begins to hunt for the dungeon as she suspects a sadistic serial killer is on the prowl. She soon discovers that she has a past with the kidnapper/murderer and that she might be his next victim.

I don’t want to say anything else and ruin the suspense. I feel too many emotions for this book so I don’t trust myself not to say anything to spoil it for those who haven’t read it. But I can safely say that everyone will enjoy this book. The plot is good. The writing is superb. The author has mastered the pacing and tension-building that makes a good thriller. But The Missing isn’t just a blood-curdling psychological thriller. Mooney knows how to evoke empathy and question your morals. So, it makes for an interesting, wholesome read. Best, the ending will make you squirm.

Fiction

The Missing

Chris Mooney

Published: 2007

Publisher: Penguin Books

Pages: 403, Paperback