United We Blog! for a Democratic Nepal

Ex-King Gyanendra Does in Nepal What His Ancestors Never Did

February 9, 2010 · 2 Comments

Keeping track of the former king

gyanendra in panauti

click to enlarge. pic via kantipur

Almost two years after he was stripped of his crown and became a commoner, Nepal’s deposed king Gyanendra himself has broken a centuries-old taboo by attending a religious fair in a town till now considered out of bounds for the royal family. Escorted by bodyguards and aides, the 62-year-old ousted king drove himself yesterday (Monday) to Panauti, a town 35 km southeast of Kathmandu, to attend the Makar Mela, a Hindu fair held every 12 years. In the past, legend had it that Panauti was a forbidden area for the Shah kings of Nepal since it was the domain of Hindu god Narayan and the kings of Nepal were considered incarnations of the same god. Since Gyanendra’s ancestor Prithvi Narayan Shah annexed Panauti in the 18th century, the legend sprang up and flourished, keeping the royal family away from the town.

An aide to the former king, Sagar Timalsina, told Kantipur daily that Gyanendra Shah visited the fair as a common citizen attending a religious event and not as a king. The former king, unaccompanied by his wife, who looked in a cheerful mood offered support worth Rs 1 Lakh (one hundred thousands) each to the construction of Old Age home and establishment of an educational institution in the area.. With the Panauti taboo broken, it remains to be seen if Gyanendra will now take on the remaining one, observed a Kathmandu-based reporter of an Indian news agency who made several errors while translating the original news report in Kantipur daily. North of Kathmandu lies a colossal statue of Vishnu, another incarnation of Narayan, lying in a bed of serpents on a pool. The Budanilkantha temple is the only one in Nepal that was forbidden to the royal family of Nepal after a legend arose that the king would die if he ever gazed on the 15 feet high statue. Keep reading →

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Jamim Shah Murder: A Statement from Delhi?

February 9, 2010 · 3 Comments

“[The Jamim Shah murder] is a statement from New Delhi that it will not let off anyone it perceives as hostile to its national interests.”- A senior Nepali police officer

By Mukul Humagain, Anil Giri and Baburam Kharel

The Indian underworld gang run by Chhota Rajan could be behind Sunday’s killing of media entrepreneur Jamim Shah, Nepali police said, adding that it was zeroing in on the killers and the mastermind behind the killing. According to Superintendent of Police Ganesh K. C., chief of Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu, the role of international criminals has been established and the killers will soon be nabbed. “Shah’s murder has been carried out by someone from the Chhota Rajan gang,” K. C. told the Kathmandu Post. He said the phone calls made to Cable Television Association and Avenues TV on Monday (yesterday) and interrogations of more than a dozen people indicate that the killers had arrived in Kathmandu on a ‘mission’ to kill Shah.

Call details of Bharat Nepali who claimed responsibility for Shah’s killing obtained from Nepal Telecom and leads from people close to Shah and Yunus Ansari (who was arrested a few weeks ago for his alleged involvement in a fake Indian currency racket) pointed out the involvement of the Chhota Rajan group, according to police. Bharat had claimed that he was responsible for the murder because Jamim was involved in anti-India activities.

Interestingly, it was Rajendra Sadashiv Nikhale, aka Chhota Rajan, who claimed responsibility for the killing of Mirza Dilshad Beg, a lawmaker, in Kathmandu in 1998.  Rajan had offered similar reasons for the killing: Beg’s anti-Indian position.

Shah’s murder took place 13 months after police arrested Rajan’s three hitmen in Kathmandu. All three — Ganesh Shah alias ‘Tinku’, Anil Baniya alias ‘Vikky’ and Mukesh Kumar Yadav — were arrested in March. Police had disclosed then that they were planning to kill “some high-profile people.” The hitmen were arrested with sophisticated weapons.

Apart from the government formed 5-member judicial panel to probe Shah’s murder, Nepal Police has formed a taskforce led by DIG Rajendra Singh Bhandari. SSP Rana Bahadur Chand, SP Milan Basnet and DSPs Diwas Udas and Jagat Man Shrestha. Likewise, the Office of Metropolitan Police Commissioner has formed a five-member probe team led by SSP Madhav Nepal.

Uncanny parallels between Beg’s and Shah’s deaths

“[The Jamim murder] is a statement from New Delhi that it will not let off anyone it perceives as hostile to its national interests.”- A Nepali police officer

By Akhilesh Upadhyay
Editor, The Kathmandu Post

The gruesome murder on Sunday of media entrepreneur Jamim Shah, 47, has brought back chilling memories of June 29, 1998. On that day, Mirza Dilshad Beg, a sitting lawmaker, was gunned down outside his home in Siphal, Kathmandu. It was a dark night and the hillside neighbourhood looked darker still due to load-shedding, when we (reporters and photographers from Kantipur and The Kathmandu Post) arrived at the scene, soon after the 9.30 hit-and-run incident.

The newsroom had received a tip-off from a local who had heard what he suspected were gun-shots. It was an innocent world in many ways. Nepalis were still unfamiliar with sounds of bombs and gun-shots, the Maoist-waged “people’s war” was still in its infancy, violent deaths still shook everybody, and political assassination was unheard of. But what shocked the Nepalis most was how ugly games from powerful external forces could play out in Nepal, as it watched haplessly. The incident also gave many of us in the newsroom a first-hand lesson on forces which operate from behind the scene. Two of the theories that made the rounds then clearly pointed at the cross-border nature of the operation; the third one was that Beg’s death had to do with “family problems,” which turned out to be false. Keep reading →

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Jamim Shah Murder Update: Indian Says He Killed.

February 8, 2010 · 3 Comments

Jamim murder brings relief to Indian security agencies: Indian daily

A day after: Nepali cabinet sets up an investigation committee even as an Indian calls up a Nepali TV station in Kathmandu to admit the responsibility

So Indian killed Jamim? May be this group, may be that group. May be Indians, may be Pakistanis. An Indian has reportedly claimed responsibility. When referring the killer as Indian, Nepali media shouldn’t do the mistake that Indian media often does: by generalizing and referring to the Indian people. In this case, even if the caller turns out to be a real killer, Nepali media should treat him as a criminal who happens to be an Indian national, not THE Indian national who killed. Indian media often jump gun and blame whole Nepal and Nepali people whenever a Nepali in India is suspected of having involvement in criminal activities.

But at this point we can’t really be sure about the authenticity of the caller. Neither we can trust Avenues TV that has claimed that a man identifying himself Bharat Nepali called the station to own the responsibility of murder. In this type of situation where apparently underworld kingpins functioning from countries more than one and intelligence agencies of enemy nations are involved, informations coming out from any quarter needs to be verified more than twice.

So who is Bharat Nepali? According to Avenues TV he is a former scalper from New Delhi’s Tilak Nagar who became Indian underworld don Chhota Rajan’s aide. According to Avenues, Bharat alleged Shah of having links with another underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, competitor of Chhota Rajan gang, and Pakistani intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Bharat was reported last year to have split from the Chhota Rajan gang to start his own. Another unverified piece of report. He faces several murder charges and has been absconding in India. Bharat reportedly linked Jamim’s killing with a 1998 murder in which Mirza Dilsad Beg, a Nepali Member of Parliament, was shot dead in a similar fashion in Kathmandu. Chhota Rajan group had claimed responsibility of the murder alleging Beg of having links with Dawood and the ISI.

Meanwhile, a Hindi newspaper claims that the killing of Jamim Shah has come as a big relief to Indian security agencies who thought Jamim was involved in disseminating fake Indian currencies. The paper, Dainik Jagaran, citing unnamed Indian security agencies sources claims that Jamim had links with Dawood and was working in association with ISI to smuggle fake Indian currency into India via Kathmandu. “The ISI was prodding Jamim to open a modern printing press in Kathmandu to print fake Indian currency,” claims the paper citing unnamed Indian security agency sources. “But Jamim wasn’t being able to work as fast as ISI would have wanted. Moreover he was also worried about the infighting between conflicting underworld factions. He had complained about that with Dawood and had expressed desire to sale properties and business worth Rs. 5 billion and settle in Pakistan. Dawood had agreed but ISI foiled the plot.”

Cabinet forms probe committee
An emergency meeting of the cabinet today formed a five-member investigation committee to probe on Jamim Shah’s murder. Former justice Govinda Parajuli will led the committee that will also have senior officials from Nepal Police, National Investigation Department and Office of Attorney General along with an expert.

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Was Jamim Shah Anti-India with ISI and Underworld Nexus?

February 7, 2010 · 4 Comments

A section of Indian media certainly thinks so….but do they have any proof? Yes, it’s true that there were rumors to that effect.

Jamim Shah

The broad-daylight murder of Nepali cable and satellite TV pioneer Jamim Shah could probably be the result of two things: either an underworld revenge or an intelligence undercover operation. Some Indian media reports (as of now) have claimed that Shah was suspected as having associations with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim who is wanted in India, and Pakistani intelligence agency ISI. A section of Indian media that is better known for jumping the gun in matters related to regional security and politics have alleged that Shah’s media outlets were routinely used for anti-India propaganda.

Shah started Nepal’s first cable network, Space Time Network, that is still considered the premium service in Kathmandu, and later the first Nepali satellite TV channel- Channel Nepal- from Bangkok. After his successful TV venture he also started two broadsheet daily newspapers in Nepali (Space Time) and English (Space Time Today). Both newspapers failed commercially and were closed down.

Indian media today blame that Shah used his newspapers and TV network for anti-India propaganda.

“Shah ran the Channel Nepal television station that in 2000 instigated anti-India riots when it falsely reported Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan as saying that he hated Nepalis,” claims a report by carried by Times of India. “Four people died in the violence that followed and scores of Indian shops and businesses came under attack. Though the channel was banned for some time, it was lifted once the furore receded.”

Here’s what India’s government-controlled news agency Press Trust of India wrote about Shah: “The Nepali media mogul is alleged to have links with the underworld, including Dawood Ibrahim and Chota Rajan, allegations he had consistently denied. It was also alleged that his TV channel had received investments from underworld sources.”

It was widely reported at that time that a local Nepali-language weekly from Chitwan had originally carried such report about Roshan and afterwards major media from Kathmandu quoted the same report. Shah may be guilty for his alleged anti-India activities on Nepali soil but that was never verified. Neither we heard of any reports of India sharing its intelligence about Shah’s anti-India activities with Nepali authorities. There are many media outlets in Nepal (particularly newspapers) that are believed to be run (or help run) by the Indian embassy in Kathmandu because they run not only hagiographic reports about everything-India but also negative reports about Pakistan. About Shah too, there were rumors in Kahtmandu about his anti-India things but again they were never challenged in related authorities.

Here’s what TOI says about Shah’s newspapers: “Shah also ran a newspaper, Space Time, that carried anti-India propaganda.”

And about his Dawood, ISI links: “In 2004, he came under the ire of the Indian government who asked Nepal to freeze the assets of Space Time Network, alleging that it was funded by Dawood. Shah is also believed to have had ISI links. However, he had stoutly denied both allegations.”

The Murder

Jamim Shah died after being shot in the heart of the capital today. Two masked gunmen on a motorcycle fired at him in the busy street of Lajimpat, Kathmandu while he was heading towards his home in Panipokhari. Shah, who had sustained injuries in his head and chest, was rushed to nearby TU Teaching Hospital in Maharajgunj where he was declared dead at 3:45 pm. The hospital sources said he was dead by the time he was brought to the hospital.

According to DSP Pradhumna Karki, the assailants apparently shot at the driver before Shah from a close distance. He received three bullets while his chauffeur Malakar got bullet in his thigh. Police claimed the firing was carried out with the intention to murder. Malakar has been undergoing treatment at the same hospital and is said to be out of danger.

Police said the two men in black outfit on a motorbike (Ba 15 Pa 8733) opened indiscriminate fire at Shah’s car (Ba 1 Cha 2151) at around 2:55, while he was returning home from the Yak and Yeti Hotel in Durbar Marg. The assailants came from the opposition direction.

Police spokesperson Bigyan Raj Sharma said search teams have been deployed to hunt down the killers in the possible hideouts.

Shah is survived by his wife and son.

Journalists mourn: The Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) has expressed deep grief over Shah’s killing. Expressing tribute to late Shah, the FNJ Central Committee wished eternal peace to the departed soul. The FNJ also extended heartfelt condolence to the bereaved family members. Nepal Cable TV Association, and Nepal Cable TV Organization have deplored the inhumane killing of Shah. Issuing a joint press release today, both associations demanded the concerned bodies to immediately investigate into the incident and take action against the culprits as per the law. (source)

Here’s what independent Nepali daily Republica writes about the murder:

Family: The second son of Dr Mohim Shah, a retired senior government officer, is survived by wife Anjali and son Jacky, 24. According to family sources, Anjali had flown to East Timor for a personal visit with two other relatives a few days ago. Jacky, a young musician has been living in US.

The media baron had also courted controversy for his alleged links with Dawood Ibrahim and ISI, which he always denied stoutly. Security officers tally the modus operandi of Shah’s murder with that of Mirza Dilshad Beg 12 years ago, who courted controversy for similar allegations.

Police arrested eight persons on suspicion of involvement in the incident till Sunday evening but an investigative official at Metropolitan Police Range Kathmandu (MPRK) said on condition of anonymity that real culprits could be hiding in ’star hotels’. According to SP Ganesh KC, chief of MPRK, the shooters had a black complexion and wore black jackets.

Whodunit? While there are widespread suspicions about “international links” behind the homicide, a high level intelligence source said that the killing might be an act of revenge by a local party with whom Jamim had a long animosity. The source even warned another partner of the dispute could meet the same fate. Security officers tally the modus operandi of Shah´s murder with that of Mirza Dilshad Beg 12 years ago, who courted controversy for similar allegations.

Police arrested eight persons on suspicion of involvement in the incident till Sunday evening but an investigative official at Metropolitan Police Range Kathmandu (MPRK) said on condition of anonymity that real culprits could be hiding in ´star hotels´. According to SP Ganesh KC, chief of MPRK, the shooters had a black complexion and wore black jackets.

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Constituent Assembly Has Made Substantial Progress in Constitution Writing

February 7, 2010 · 1 Comment

Despite all the chaos and apparent differences of positions/opinions/ideologies of political parties, they have made significant progress in drafting a new constitution. If one looks at the debates that have occurred in the CA over the past year and a half, it is clear that although differences between parties have persisted, there have also been major attempts to discuss issues and attempts to find adequate methods to address them.

There is a tendency in Nepali society that views the proceedings in the Constituent Assembly (CA) with great negativity and foreboding. The differences between the parties on important issues regarding the constitution go so deep, this line of analysis goes, that finding compromise is impossible. Those who believe this never expected the CA process to move as far as it has: to the stage where all 11 thematic committees have submitted their concept papers, they have been discussed and the next task is for the Constitutional Committee (CC) to write a complete draft of the constitution in the next month. Even now, the nay-sayers continue to disparage the process, emphasising the incomplete nature of the concept papers and the major differences between parties that yet remain to be resolved.

This reading is based on the premise that there is broadly one main fault line in the CA: between the Maoists and the ethnic/regional parties on the one side and the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML on the other. This chasm between the two sides is so deep, it is thought, that bridging it is impossible. This is, however, a misreading of the situation. If one looks at the debates that have occurred in the CA over the past year and a half, it is clear that although differences between parties have persisted, there have also been major attempts to discuss issues and attempts to find adequate methods to address them. In many of these cases, in fact, there is agreement on the nature of the problems of Nepali state and society. The differences between parties are only regarding how to resolve them. Keep reading →

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Nepal India Bhai Bhai. Take Rose, Tension Nahi Leneka.

January 31, 2010 · 1 Comment

Nepal-India Friendship

Nepalis and Indians exchange roses in a show of harmony in no-man's-land at Jamunaha border point on Saturday (30 Jan). Photo by Janak Nepal

In an effort to reduce tensions between their two nations, Nepalis and Indians come at a border point to hoist their national flags, sing their national songs and pay respect to their martyrs. But Indian Border Security Force’s harassment continues in eastern border (see box)

By Janak Nepal

Flags were hoisted, national anthems sung and tributes paid to martyrs of both countries—Nepal and India— in no-man’s land at Jamunaha border point near the Nepali town of Nepalgunj on Saturday (30 Jan) for a reason. The people from the two countries exchanged roses in a show of friendship and harmony.

Civil society leaders from Nepalgunj and bordering Rupaidiya had organised a programme for reconciliation between the two sides. Tension had flared up in border areas after the United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) [UCPN-M], under its national sovereignty campaign, printed posters showing boots planted on the Indian national flag a week ago. Keep reading →

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Nepali Maoists and Bihari Republic

January 31, 2010 · 2 Comments

Bihar’s success story tells us that if Nepali leaders want, Nepal can progress in a couple of years, not decades.

By Dinesh Wagle
Wagle Street Journal

Finally, the Indian ambassador in Kathmandu last week did what he was primarily supposed to do: promote his country rather than poking his nose into internal affairs of the hosts. “Some people talk about possible Biharisation of Nepal,” Rakesh Sood reportedly said at a programme organised to mark his country’s Republic Day in the Nepali capital on Jan. 26. “But look at Bihar, the economic growth there has crossed 11 percent.” The ambassador blamed Nepal for its growing trade deficit with India, arguing that market was of no use if there’s no production. He might be correct in his assessment. But I wondered how Prachanda and his company took the statement that came as a response to the Maoist’s ‘we don’t need Bihari-style republic [that rest of the parties and India want to impose] in Nepal’ rhetoric.

Why blame only the Maoists? For many in South Asia, the Indian state of Bihar is synonymous with lawlessness, poverty and underdevelopment. Not only in Nepal but in India too, I have found, the word Bihar(i) is taken as a mark of insult and humiliation. I have met many Biharis who hesitate to identify themselves as Biharis, including those who are highly educated. The problem is with the image of Bihar that was largely shaped by the politicians who ruled the state until 2004. Since, with Nitish Kumar assuming Chief Minister-ship, that rusty image has slowly been changing. Keep reading →

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Obstacles for Business in Nepal: Instability and Maoists

January 29, 2010 · 1 Comment

Political instablity and power outage are the two major contributors to Nepal’s poor investment climate, a World Bank report says. It forget to mention the number one reason: the Maoists.

Nepal 2009 Enterprise Survey points out lack of access to finance and labour regulations as other major obstacles. Obstacles, however, differ from industry to industry. Transport and electricity are especially problematic for the tourism industry, whereas labour regulation is the key impediment for the manufacturing sector. The survey conducted last year has covered 13 cities across the country. Nepal’s decline in export has rightly been potrayed in the survey. Only four percent of the firms are exporters against the South Asian average of 20 percent. Nepal, however, has fared better in some areas: Tax rates, tax administration, business licensing and permits and court functioning. (detail)

Maoists threat to GMR

Nepalis have been bearing the brunt of treacherous power cuts for some years and it is only projects such as these that can provide relief to them a few years down the line. The Maoists have no right to deny the people the future benefits that such projects will bring to them. Keep reading →

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Nepal Govt Advised Not to Allow India Deploy Sky Marshals

January 28, 2010 · Leave a Comment

‘Indian ploy to legitimize what they have been doing informally for the past 10 years’

By Saroj Raj Adhikari

The secretariat of Nepal’s Security Council has advised the government not to allow India put sky marshals in their planes flying out from Kathmandu. The secretariat that takes stock of security issues before providing any advise to the Cabinet recommended against deploying sky marshals on Wednesday (January 27). to the Prime Minister’s Office, Defense Ministry and Home Ministry. According to a source at the PMO, the secretariat suggested that allowing India deploy sky marshals could have lasting impact on issues related to nationalism. The secretariat had termed the Indian proposal ‘interventionist approach’ on the eve of Prime Minister’s visit to India a few months ago. Keep reading →

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‘India Already Has Sky Marshals in Nepal-Bound Planes’

January 27, 2010 · 1 Comment

New Delhi’s pressure to allow sky marshals on Indian planes flying out from Kathmandu has put Nepali government agencies in a dilemma. Foreign and Home Ministry officials held consultations with their colleagues in the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA) before Indian External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna’s visit to Nepal in mid-January and Home Minister Bhim Rawal’s India visit last week, according to TKP. As Nepal is a party to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), MoTCA officials say, armed foreign nationals should hand over their weapons to Nepali security when they get off the plane as per Standard Operating Procedures. The Indian side has proposed that Indian air marshals will remain inside the plane at all times. “They will be deployed in plainclothes,” said a senior Nepal government official.  “The Home and Foreign ministries have received feedback from the Tourism Ministry that Nepal could allow the air marshals. However, the Ministry of Home should make a call on such a big decision,” said the official. Keep reading →

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