In Nepal, Marriage Is A Public Affair Where You Show Off Your Power and Property. Yes, Even If That Is Illegal. Because Who Can Touch An Army General Who Is Considered Above The Law?
General’s Juwai: On the marriage day: pic taken on Sunday, May 14. Pic by Todd Krainin
General’s Daughter, the Behuli. Pic by Bikas Rauniar
They say marriage is a private affair. But, not so in Nepal. Look at our own General Pyar Jung Thapa, the Chief of the Army Staff (who has just been recommended by a probe commission to be suspended from duty along with other chiefs of the security agencies for repressing last month’s historical Peoples’ Movement). But he has made us proud. We the people, among the world’s poorest, are awed by reading about the marriage of his daughter. We are so proud today that we have forgotten our poverty. How can we be poor when our chief of army staff can have such a grand and expensive marriage ceremonies in the city? We are now all wishing that we could be the chief of the army staff so that we can also have same kind of marriage ceremony for our daughters. We wish we were General Thapa so that we can have same amount of money. By the way, how much is the OFFICIAL salary of the Chief of the Army Staff in Nepal? Not more than Rs. 30 thousands. But how can he spend so generously and proudly? We wish we could know answer and apply the same formula to earn the money. And we are sure that such a formula would make every Nepalis rich and would win Noble prize for economics.
An Artist’s Impression: The Lavish Marriage Ceremony of Our General’s Daughter.
Let’s not talk about how the county is debating on the issue of bringing Royal Nepal Army under the control of Parliament because it’s the season of marriage and general is throwing lavish party. (yes, not only one but five parties) on the occasion of his youngest daughter Pragyashree Thapa’s nuptial. Let’s not disturb him. Lets not talk about reforms in the RNA. Let’s talk about the marriage. This will definitely diminish much-talked about Indian weddings such as billionaire Laxmi Mittal’s daughter’s wedding few years ago.
We Also Salute You General: You Have Shown Us A Great Example. We Wish We Were Rich Just Like You.
Coincidentally, the groom, Pratap Singh Rao, member of India’s former royal family, is coming by Jet Air. According to a report by Kedar Ojha in today’s Kantipur Daily, two five star hotels Soaltee and Hyatt are booked for the Indian guests. Thapa’s official quarters called Shashi Bhawan in posh area of Lalitpur is decorated to mark the occasion. Apart from the Who’s Who of Nepal, the King and Queen will give blessings to the bride and the groom.
Proud Parents: General Pyar Jung Thapa with his wife.
Yes, let’s also forget that in Nepal, there is a Social Conduct Law that restricts these kinds of extravaganzas in marriage and other family functions. But, as English novelist Charles Dickens said: Law is an ass. He could not be more apt in Nepal than anywhere else on earth. Because we firmly believe that thula and dhani le je garda pani hunchha, kanun ta nikukha haru ka lagi matra ho (Rich and powerful can do anything even if that is against the law because law is only for those poor folks who don’t have any connections.)
Congratulations General! No, we are not thinking about the law. Because, as Dickens said, that is an ass.
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Comments
127 responses to “A Big Fat ‘Illegal’ Nepali Wedding”
Yeah everyone knows corruption is one of the biggest problems that this country faces. If all corrupt public people were to be prosecuted I am sure that the entire army top brass, 90% of the government staff and 99% of the SPA politicians would be in serious trouble. All these scoundrels should be prosecuted and put to jail if found guilty. But the prosecution record is very poor because the very people entrusted with enforcing the law i.e. the parliamentarians, the CIAA, the police are also part of the corrupt gang too.
How does one clean up a government that is corrupt from top to bottom?
Five parties??? One must be for making fun of Nepali people who is silence while he is able to amass this amount of wealth. Too many educated people with a corrupt mentatility… is something wrong in our culture/society???
rabin, it’s obvious that something is very wrong with our society/culture.
Just a question .
Why shouldn’t the government prevent this kind of extravenga? Apparently they know that it is taking place, and they have full rights to show the legal reasons. Wonder if any of them would attend the party or not : )))
Looks like http://www.blog.com.np has come to its final run. Why should there be critical reports on Chief of General of the army’s daughters personal wedding. The Genral is a public figure who needs to be brought to the public platform when required but their family shouldnt be exploited by the media whatsoever.
Most of their wealth are inherited from the ancestors. Why? Well How would members of Indian Royal family marry otherwise if that wasn’t the case.
May I remind that the Nepal is a capitalist country and people are falling day by day under that principle. If it was a communist state as the Maoists desire to have. Then certainly something could’ve been done.
In the same way report more about the political coruptions. The wealth were looted from the public in recent times. The maharajas and the aristocrats did sowhen they were in power with the people’s consent or maybe without but nevertheless it is the same with any state. The UK still has inherited lords system which is being scarapped this year. Japan, Spain, one doesnt need to go that far. Look at Brunei, Bhutan and the Arabian Emirs.
Blog nepal is acting like a gutter media now. Like in other countries tabloids do the job. Or Is blog nepal wanting more audience for it’s cheesy reports.
Anyways best wishes for the future BlOG Nepal.
kaushal, I think your comment was an oversimplification. So every Rana and Shah has the right to a ready made excuse of ‘ancestral property’? That’s bull. Very few Ranas and Shahs have ancestral property worth even one crore! And they would all spend a third of that in one wedding? That’s just more bull.
To be honest I really don’t think that the General is spending fair amount right out of his pockets. Once when I had attended the ceremony of one of my ‘Cpatian’ friends, I was kinda surprised to see the involvement of whole battalion of armies. Though it was a magnificent ceremony, he managed to escape very cheap. And for crying out loud, the army is sending off the daughter of their (ex)boss. Most likely he’s planning to bill the considerable amount to the state.
Not only Ranas and Shahs, there’re Marwari famileis who spend money on their ceremonies which we can’t even imagine. Granted, it’s your money and you can burn it if you want, but when you hear about those people who spend 100 times more than what they actually earn , I don’t think it is very fair.
Marwari’s or other businessmen spending large amounts of money on their offspings weddings are a totally different matter (unless tax evasion is an issue-which in Nepal usually is).
Perhaps Nepal’s Khasagoggi footed the bill for the General’s wedding? Anyway everyone knows how corrupt the RNA is.
Also I hate this culture we humans have where we are always showing off our wealth. It’s not only in Nepal but everywhere else. However Nepal being such a poor country this culture, especially when practised by the educated, is doubly sickening. I am afraid too much borrowing from the culture south of our border.
what Kirat said about the top to bottom corruption, most people seem to agree on that. But let me tell you most people even in govt employees are not corrupt and I have a feeling that most of them are against it. The problem is it starts from the top and there is less they can do about it. Once there is rule of law established and people feel free to express themselve, I believe that corruption would come down significantly as there are only few who are corrupt and people do not want to sacrifice their life and employment to fight against corruption when also that s/he would not even be remembered for his fight. Now that all four heads have been kicked out, some hope has emerged. Lets hope the govt will not be back from this move and ultimately there will be a rule of law.
“We wish we were General Thapa so that we can have same amount of money.”
Anybody who wishes to be General Thapa might soon be happy not to be in his position.
Good news UWB,
However, corruption is a part of daily life in Nepal.
In fact Government Staff is synonymous to corrupt staff in Nepal. Ever government office that I have visited stinks with corruption.
So, Mr Thapa is just one of them.
However, I disagree with Kirat who states that 99% of SPA leaders are corrupt as among Severn Parties, only 1% of leaders have taken govenment post till date… 99% of the leaders have never held any posts. This includes all political parties, Kirat doesnt seem to know about political parties of Nepal.
Agreed the general is wasting state money. Agreed he has to step down with his master, KG.
But,
UWB went too far by attacking the general personally. Reserving two five star hotels is not that expensive if you know how much money per marriage is spent in any rich indian family. Remember Jaylalita…
Dont forget that even for Daijo, nepalese just like their indian cousins spend in million NRs. As a head of army, the general is in position to use the military facility such as buildings/horses for limited personal uses.
Concerned Nepali, I am afraid you don’t know the SPA culture! You don’t have to be a minister or dy. minister to be corrupt. Even the NC and UML cadres in their twenties who have years to go before they can even hope to have a small post within their party are corrupt. I am afraid I know several of these ‘karyakartas’ and man they depress me! If you need a little work with a govt. office (genuine work but the babu is being very difficult) and they will take money from you and do the work. Even at such an early stage in their political career, instead of being filled with ideals and dreams of serving their country, they go about like petty dalals.
1. Does anybody here know how much Prachanda spent in his son’s marraige and how many maoists cadres worked day and night to make it a big ceremony?
NO you don’t know because you don’t want to know.
2. Do you know this Prakash(prachanda’s son)was given a “double promotion” in the party leadership and from a district-level member, he was promoted to the regional bureau.He was promoted along with his father-in-law, a maoist himself.
3. Do you know where is the daughter of baburam Bhattarai?
NO you don’t know because you don’t want to
I also don’t know but i want to know.
Isn’t it ironic when we talk about corruption and SPA ? I don’t blame SPA leaders actually, I blame the system in which they practise their politics. Instead of playing the field in the proper manner, they have tendency to rely upon their karyakartas to win any election. And then there will be the payback time. What do you expect ? So called Karyakartas squeeze the leaders by their balls. Either it is for ‘tok’ for telephone connection or the ‘sifarish’ to get a job, you can see the leaders always being sorrounded by the Karyakartas. These so called Karyakartas are the real pain in the ass.
1. Don’t talk big
2. Before changing the society change yourself guys
3. Pyar Jung also belongs to the same society he is showing us our own image.
4. Change your own image first.
5. He is corrupt becuse we ourself are corrupt.
6. Put you in his poisiton, you are no different.
7. We have seen much more expensive wedding than this. Haven’t we?
coke, don’t be so one sided in your arguments. We are talking about people who enjoy benefits of the state and who are supposed to look after the interest of the people of Nepal. Not people who until a few weeks ago were labelled terrorists by the govt. of Nepal. Try and get a sense of balance man.
But we can repent
Collect Money and Send it to a school in the far-west.
Let us educate our children, give them equal opportunity in a peaceful way rather than fighting.
Let’s not be greedy like Gyan Bd and corrupt like the political parties and act like power hungry maoists.
Stop politcs, do something constructive.
We can Work as a volunter in weekends build roads or teach people and educate them for free.
Can UWB take the initiative?
i am not one sided i was just reminding UWB to cover the other part of the story.
What do you think prachanda is doing?
He is not an elected leader.
Forcefully came to the scene in an arms race and collects taxes(haha)from poor villagers and corrupt business houses in Nepal to buy glasses(RayBan 2116 Unisex Sunglasses), YSL clothings for himself.
How is he diff to Gyanendra or other ranas?
karyakartas and their netas-party workers and their leaders? Really doesn’t translate does it? Even our language says it all about these bloodsuckers!
AHIMSA says: Stop infighting, build your nation now!
Good UWB reporting to show to the world the contrast, that made Nepali people rise. Nice, how the author ironically describes that s/he dreams to be of same wealth.
People should not waste time in waiting for a new kinglike leader to emerge. Democracy means they are allowed to take their own decisions.
As the major reason for the uprising was the need for peace and stability, for justice and personal freedom, only a new constitution can create a new law, to which the people will obey.
All old faces have to leave their positions this time. No need for new undemocratic leaders. 50% of all posts should go to women. Only women’s participation will guarantee social change.
Civil society has to be encouraged to take up responsible positions. The general public should actively participate now. Talented democratic minded Nepali are needed everywhere to finally end the deeply rooted social injustice in Nepal.
A social revolution is needed to lay foundation for a truely democratic system, where the people can be sure that they will be their own rulers and where nobody is above the law.
It is possible in free media to express opinion, this is the right way to criticize. Better than disturbing or even attacking this ignorant and immoral exhibition of wealth by a loser.
AHIMSA requests: Demilitarize Nepal completely now!
AHIMSA sounds like a neta
he too should have been among the suspended; aot only suspended but also arrested
as UWB is a democratic blog, my experience in the last two months shows that the mandales have profited most from it . i.e. it has been a good place for mandales to hang out. The other class of people are those living in the US who get information of nepal only through the news but discusses here as if they knew all the things without knowing the ground reality. And of course, there are some people who are in fact intellectual like panditji, kirat etc.
Kirat says:
May 12th, 2006 at 7:48 pm
kaushal, I think your comment was an oversimplification. So every Rana and Shah has the right to a ready made excuse of ‘ancestral property’? That’s bull. Very few Ranas and Shahs have ancestral property worth even one crore! And they would all spend a third of that in one wedding? That’s just more bull.
Kiratji,
I would have to disagree with your ‘less than one crore statement’. Not all Ranas are aristrocrats. One which are certainly have their ancestral wealth. There are classifications within these as in A class B1 and B2 aristrocrats.
King of Nepal owns the Surya cigarette factory, major hotels in kathmandu and other foreign investments. The remainig aristrocrats are similar.
My argument was’nt about all Shah’s Ranas having an excuse. My argument was blog.com.np reporting on cheesy things which isnt a real concern for the civic society of Nepal or any general public.
Just like the King using the tool of nationalism for anti India sentiments. the same way why are being against the family of these people. The immediate Royal family is a different case as they are directly funded by public tax.
Kiratji, your comments seem to be reflecting the view of total eradication of the royal elements and historical elements of the ranas. It seems you have a pessimistic view of the future.
coke, I am sure I am not like you or para jung, what do you corrupt people think? r there only people like you?
whats wrong with UWB now ?
think UWB should be re-christened as UWD .. united we destroy.. think these ppl cant see someone having a good time…
they are always green with jelousy…
these kantipur ppl sucks big time..
i think if someone had a poll of these guys contributin a days salary to the “poor” ppl of nepal..as UWB seems to be SO concerned about the poverty line of nepal..they would stop using that word only..
UWB is a pain in the arse..nothing more..
whoever is gng there..have fun guys..
prayashree is really beautiful.. ie if u have seen her.. that guy is one helluva lucky guy
kaushal, I too think that UWB is very biased and work under an agenda that is not impartial. But now and then they unintentionally do come out with reports that are important to our society/country. I was objecting to your statement which in effect said that perhaps it was the RNA’s Chief’s ‘ancestral wealth’ that he used thingy. We all know that this is not true. Perhaps Gen. Thapa has a lot of ancestral wealth but we know that 90% of these public figures are corrupt and don’t use their ancestral wealth for these private occassions.
These ostentatious show of wealth by these public figures are of importance to our society. These so called prominent persons should be models for all of us to follow. But look at their display of vulgarlarity instead! I can understant a businessman’s lavish wedding but a govt. official indulging in one? It’s just pure bad taste and sets a very bad precedence for all his juniors.
hey why do we ALWAYS forget..this poor girl is gettin married to a freaking INDIAN ? and u know how crazy the indians can be regarding dowary and this and that and esp when they are royals themselves.. maybe they made the general go in this length to make pragyas’ in-laws happy OR .. the generals wife.. wanted to have one grand party for her little daughter..the youngest one is always the precious 🙂 .. but then mrs. thapa doesnt hail from a wealty family..so all the buck lands at general thapas place only
me no kirat,
You don’t have to be one. As a matter of fact you don’t even have to be a Nepali. As long as you truely care for Nepal and it’s people I think you have the right to say what you want to.
I know the family background og Pyar Jung. His house is in SHIFAL. He was actually from a Higher Middle Class family.He did not had that much of money. The point here is that in the ARMY all sorts of money is floating to from downward to upward. There is a networking of corrupt officials who provide the money to the top. Like in any customs office of Nepal, they have DASTUR. So mostly Army Chief gets a lot of money as commission from all types of Thekdaars who provide ration and other materials to the soldiers.You can imagine that all the soldiers (90,000) are provided meat two times week. How many goats need to be purchased per month ? There are other supplies like clothes and uniforms,boots,weapons, helicopters, trucks etc. You add up the commission.
In my experience, the most corrupt organisation in Nepal is the Army. It is like a rotten pumpkin.From outside it is intact, but inside it is fully rotten. There must be a very effective system of Audit in the military. They have been parroting the two words all the time: National Security. These words are MANGI KHANE BHANDO of the Army. Let me ask you, whether our National Security was good during King’s rule or after the restoration ofDemocracy?Definately after the restoration.So during the King’s rule these miltary top brass were saying that security situation has improved with the take over of the King.
The former chief Prajwol Shamsher was the King of corruption in the Army. His wife was the most corrupt woman in Nepal.She had “spent” 10 Crores in the Officers Wife Association. There is no bills , anything of that 10 Crores.Who will prosecute Prajwol and his wife ?
Alright let’s accept even if you are in some sorta public figure there shouldn’t be any restrictions in the wealth you are gonna spend on these kinda ceremonies. And let’s accept PJT is a wealthy man with his ancestral wealth. But have you read in the report ? 2000 soldiers were involved in decorating his house. The whole thing is organized by RNA. Is that fair ? Is that what they’re good at ? They have already shown the impotenence in the battle field, and we wonder why.
One big problem with our society is hypocrisy. Ofcourse it’s everywhere but I just find it more acute in Nepal (India is number one in hypocrisy though, perhaps we can blame it on them too).
LIMBU has a very good point there. I know a businessman who supplies food (including goats!) to the army stationed at a certain place in Nepal. He complains about the bribes he has to pay to the army top brass to get his payment all the time (which probably means his supplies are sub-standard)! RNA is probably amongst the most corrupt of the govt. organisations. Just look at the poor foot soldiers, they are literally skin and bones. I am sure that a majority of the budget for their meals end up lining a lot of pockets.
Some people are advocating here about his ancestral property.Do not try to confuse others. Till he became Colonel, he had nothing. Say he had only the Uniform. I mean he is not that rich. If you have 2 Ropani land in Shifal, how can you be called rich ? In Military, when you wear Uniform, every body is afraid because ” the power comes from the barrel of the gun”. In the miltary there is no Auditing. So they come to check the bills and other details, they threaten and get out of it.
well Kirat, I don’t blame them. These days our bhaiyas up south blame us for everything for a change. Don’t you remember Lalu proudly claiming that the politics of Bihar is better than that of Nepal ? 🙂 well guess that was just a joke.
But until there is this tradition of ‘chamchagiri’, you will find hypocrites everywhere. That is the only way they can survive you see.
I wonder what the bride would do once she finally leaves Nepal for good..As a rule in the army u have to work in the army hospital for certain yrs if you have gone to med school through army ..She was in Armforce med school in Pune..Like Prjjawal sumshers daughter another Pragya did She would just breach the contract and go away..After all they are Generals Daughters..Kasle chune hai!!!Hamro justo backward society ma..
glade, you know what’s really…how do I put it…umm depressing? Laloo might be right!
If you guys haven’t already read Mr. Bista’s ‘Fatalism and Development’ you should give it a try. It is a good critique of what is wrong with our culture.
Yes, It is a very telling critique and may be why he disappeared.
Yeah his disapperance was quite a mystery huh? Quite a lot of theories! Quite a unique personality Mr. D.B. Bista. Quite unappreciated too.
Nepali society is totally artificial. We must have a social revolution. If somebody became rich through corruption, we blame him for that. But at the same time we are jealous about him and think that “if I get one good opportunity, I also try to have more money by any means”. This is unhealthy competition. We do not have creative mind. Our country is land-locked, so our brains are also landlocked.There are no new industries coming up which can employ thousands of people.We have some industries but most of them are cottage indutry-type. New wave of new generation is coming up but we do not have any ideas to give them. Because of 10 years of conflict in the country,there is no new opportunities for the people.
Most sad thing in Nepal is that we do not have good, dynamic and honest leaders. In a football team also, eventhough you have all the good players but if you lack a scorer, that team does not win.They can take the ball upto the goal post of the opponent, but they can not score a goal. Today, Nepal is like that team which always loses the game.
Good job UWB.
Royalists haru ko baja bajeko cha aile.. That is why they are advocating ancestoral property.
As some wise people have already mentioned earlier, RNA is the most corrupt institution in Nepal. I heard that it has been years since their account was last audited. If this is how the billions of security budget is “used” then there is no point in maintaining a “seto hatti”.
I do not have any comments if the general is spending his own legitimate property. In democracy, people have the right to spend their property in whatsoever way they please. But one thing that concerns me is that he is using hundreds of RNA soldiers as free labor (there was also news about “VIPs” misusing the security guards). These trends must be discuoraged as it is another form of slavery.
Irrespective of the substance of the discussion I am absolutely disgusted by the quality of UWB! This is more like a cheap tabloid then a discussion blog! Looks like Mr. Wagle didn’t learn very much during his trip to the US.
You know we can bitch and moan as much as we want but noboday is going to do anything about the General’s wedding! You know why? Because all government officials are currupt! Who do you think is going to say something against PJT? Girija Babu? errr… I think not! There is no credible leader in Nepal to even raise this issue!
‘We are now all wishing that we could be the chief of the army staff ‘….Sure WE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO BE PRACHANDA so that we could have the power to kill 13000..kill anyone we do not like ….POWER TO FRIGHTEN and MISLEAD THE POOR…..
YOU are SIMPLY FINDING an EXCUSE to ATTACK Anyone who is Part of the Present Government…
PEOPLE are beginning to attack anyone with RANA or SHAH or THAPA name…
SAYING MAOBADI came under control when KING was out of power is NONSENSE…MAOBADI power and 13000 KILLINGS have taken place after the so called DEMOCRATS were in power(last 10 years) …
DISARM the MAOBADI first..
MAOBADI are trying to learn tricks from INDIAN LEFTISTS…but they have to first answer for the 13000 DEAD MARTYRS including OUR RNA soldiers…..DONT DEMORALISE our RNA….
INDIAN LEFTISTS are AS CORRUPT as ANY other POLIICIAN ………
KEEP A WATCH on POLITICIANS…
..but when MAOBADI come to power YOU will NOT BE ABLE to..YOU WILL HAVE TO KEEP MOUTH SHUT…..
Remember STALIN of Communist Russia…. MILLIONS will DIE…in Nepal….13000 is JUST TIP of ICEBERG..
Demoralise RNA ? What are you ranting about Shanti ? When was the moral an issue of our national army? Remember the days, when endless number of policemen used to be executed by Maoists goons and army used to sit inside their comfortable barracks making lame excuses that they didn’t have any order to interfere ? Which army you are talking about? The army which we used to think would wipe out the whole bunch of Maoists once they’re in the field ? Raja B didn’t want to use the army and limited it to groom Tundikhel and Raja G thought he had atlast a chance to use the skilled arm force. Look where are we now ?
It is not the issue of who is better than whom. Nobody is taking side of Prachanda and his organization’s shady activities. He and his goons have a lot to answer, that is not the point. Ofcourse there are good soldiers in RNA, ofcourse we should feel proud of our national army, but how do you feel when you read something like ‘2000 soldiers where used to decorate a freaking house’. If you believe that is fair enough, then I have nothing else to say.
GLADE..why should the RNA do the job assigned to the POLICE?? Why was the POLICE not strengthened???… In India the police fights Maoists and Naxalites…
I am not talking about in general. I know we were living in a denial and were not ready to accept the fact that we actually’re in civil war. And Raja B had this crazy theory about using RNA. I am just recalling one incident when mao communists attacked a police post and the police asked for RNA’s backup, they just simply didn’t show up. Granted, that doesn’t make any sense in the current situation, but these kinds of incident sums up pretty much about the inner politics and rivalry among top brass elite within RNA. This burocracy is not something we want to see. And remember they had all the power since Raja G’s been actively involved, but what have they managed to achieve ? Where are we now ? There is nothing we should be proud of you know
After watching the bodies of endless policemen being executed by these Mao communists in TV, I secretly used to wish why the heck Birendra wasn’t deploying the RNA. Well Gyanendra did it. He even managed to add modern weapons and everything, so what was stopping RNA to get rid of these Mao communists ?