The unrest that has, for over 100 days, brought economic life to a halt in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts, has been called off, and life is starting to return to normal. We will now re-instate our volunteer programme in this part of India, and also Sikkim.…
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The Nepali-speaking region of the Indian state of West Bengal is again in turmoil over its demand for a separate state they want to be called Ghorkaland. Many shops are closed and roads are being blocked by picketing protesters. Read this update from the BBC
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-40323341
For the time being, we will not be sending volunteers to West Bengal or Sikkim. We will re-instate our programme there as soon as the unrest ends.…
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For news about how Nepalese children made homeless by last year’s earthquake are being traded as slaves in the UK read this article by Lucy Clarke-Billings: (4/4/2016)
europe.newsweek.com/child-survivors-nepal-earthquake-sold-domestic-slaves-british-families-443613?rm=eu…
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This article that appeared in the Kathmandu Post makes for sobering reading for all of us who love Nepal.
Nov 26, 2015- In the six weeks since coming into power, the new government has failed to make much headway in tackling the multiple crises facing the country. At least the previous Nepali Congress (NC) government had registered a proposal for a constitutional amendment in the hope of addressing some Madhesi demands. This government seems unwilling to move ahead with this minor matter, thus leading the NC to criticise it.…
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Source: The Washington Post: By Nirabh Koirala and Geoffrey Macdonald November 2 at 11:11 AM
Nepal is edging closer to a humanitarian crisis potentially even bigger than the massive earthquake that struck in April. This time, however, it’s a political crisis rooted in Nepal’s social divisions.
Nepal’s new constitution, passed in September, has generated significant controversy. Ethnic minorities have taken to the streets in large-scale protests against the discriminatory provisions of the new governing order. Amid the dispute, fuel exports from India have halted, creating an escalating emergency as the winter approaches.…
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Nepal’s parliament passed a new national constitution on Wednesday, weeks after political leaders reached a historic agreement to create a federal state following an earthquake that killed nearly 9,000 people.
A loud cheer went up in the House as Speaker Subash Nembang announced that the long-delayed bill had been passed after violent protests that have killed more than 40 people and shut down large swathes of the south.
In all, 507 of the young republic’s 598 lawmakers came out in favour of the bill in the marathon vote, which began on Sunday and continued late into Wednesday night.…
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Nepal’s Constituent Assembly began voting on a draft of the Himalayan nation’s much-delayed new constitution on Sunday despite protests from ethnic minority groups.
Nepal has had an interim constitution since pro-democracy protests forced then-King Gyanendra to give up authoritarian rule and turn the country into a republic.
The Guardian reports on the political crisis in Nepal, 23rd January 2015:-
The Nepal crisis deepens after opposition politicians storm parliament Rivals throw shoes and microphones in scuffle over new constitution, intensifying public angst over slow political progress .
A new constitution is widely seen as a crucial step to ending the instability that has plagued the country since 2006. Photograph: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters Nepal has plunged deeper into crisis after feuding politicians – throwing microphones and shoes – failed to meet a deadline to table a new constitution, a key step to stability.…
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The annual survey by the Berlin-based watchdog has placed Nepal in 126th position with a score of 29 among 175 countries. It was placed 116th on the index among 176 countries last year. The CPI measures the extent of corruption within a country on a scale ranging from zero to 100.
KATHMANDU: Sushil Koirala, a veteran Nepali Congress leader who spent 16 years in political exile in India after Nepal’s royal takeover of 1960, was on Tuesday sworn in as Prime Minister, vowing to ensure political stability.
President Ram Baran Yadav administered oath of office to 74-year-old Koirala at Rastrapati Bhawan.
(The Times of India, 12/2/14)
So, in spite of the passing of years, a Maoist insurrection, the massacre of the royal family and establishment of a republic, Nepal turns yet again to that old dinosaur Sushil Koirala for salvation!…
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