Nov. 20, 2020

    Today marks the 14th anniversary of signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement(CPA) between the then CPN (Maoist) and the Government of Nepal led by late Girija Prasad Koirala in 2006 which formally ended the decade long People’s war waged by the Maoists against the Nepalese state. In 2012, upon completion of the rehabilitation of the People Liberation Army (PLA) many believed it to be the end of the peace process.  However, one vital part of the process, the&nb…

Nov. 18, 2020

  The gamut of political development in India-Nepal Relation after the promulgation of the Constitution of Nepal in 2015 helped increase the distrust between the two neighbouring countries. India has been accused of interfering in Nepal’s internal matter numerous times. With nationalistic rhetoric at the centre of gravity  the two left parties, the then CPN UML and Maoist Centre’s run into the general election resulted in the formation of a government at the centre and …

Sept. 20, 2020

  History is, in many ways, like a mirror. It shows us what we are and encourages us to introspect, to explore and discover the ways in which we came to be in the said state, without necessarily providing us with direct answers and explanations. Here, allow the author to introduce his anxiety. History as the study of the past, is composite of two self-contained, but not mutually exclusive but inter-dependent terms – study and the past.  To understand the past merely as an …

Sept. 16, 2020

  Robert Gilpin and Jean Millis Gilpin in The Challenge of Global Capitalism: The World Economy in the 21st Century refers to David D. Hale, financial expert and economic commentator where the latter has acknowledged the swift yet rapid entry of Americans and other industrialised nations along with other developing economies into what he has termed as “The Second Great Age of Global Capitalism”.[1] The world economic and political system is experiencing its most profound tra…

Sept. 15, 2020

  The Communists, the Monarchists, the Centrists, the Conservatives or the Fundamentalists. The list might go on but has any political party in Nepal ever centred their debate on climate change and other environmental issues? Not yet! Everything is apolitical until it is made political and I guess Nepalese political class is missing on a big time opportunity. The environmental issue is like an untapped resource, the mining of which if monopolized will likely result in a political surge …

Sept. 13, 2020

  The church bell rang Everyone entered in The ajan heard from mosque Everyone entered in The bell of temple rang Some entered in And some stood out.’ -Sharan Kumar Limbale, Marathi Dalit Writer.[1] The construction of the nationalist historiography of India has been overwhelmingly dominated by the mainstream literature, overshadowing the echoes of the unheard voices that have struggled for decades to create a space of knowledge of their own. Profoundly aff…

Sept. 8, 2020

  The August presidential election in Belarus has not only reinstated one of the longest serving democratically elected head of the state in Europe but also stroked much controversies. The opposition has accused the sitting president of rigging the election and has sought a re-election. Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus first came to power in the erstwhile Soviet Republic in the year 1994 and has never been once out of the office since then.[1] Concurrently, as I write…

Sept. 5, 2020

  In Passions and Interests (1977), Albert Hirschman shows that an important strand of intellectual history from the time of Leviathan (1651) to that of the Wealth Of Nations (1776) consisted of the watering down of Hobbes’s problem of order by arguing that certain human motivations kept others under control and that in particular the pursuit of economic self-interest was typically not an uncontrollable ‘passion’ but a civilized, gentle activity.[1] This is reflective …

Aug. 2, 2020

  On the 29th of June, the central government in India issued a directive banning 59 apps originating from China which was made on the basis of data privacy. Among these apps, two Shein and Romwe happened to be fast fashion companies, having scores of Indian consumers under their belt. This was apparent given that, since the ban, complains and threads of discussions were steadily rising across the internet regarding pending deliveries of orders which have now been stuck for over a month…

July 26, 2020

  Amongst the observed virtues of modernity is the idea of practicality. Right from our school days, we are expected to gain proficiency in practical skills and subjects. Once out of high school, one is expected to take the practical decision of choosing a discipline that is most likely to get one placed in a reputed firm; in choosing careers, one must be practical enough to choose one that pays well; when looking for company, one must be practical enough to prefer those in our “l…

July 17, 2020

  Is a tiger more terrifying to a peasant than to a zamindar? Why, then, does the peasant flee at the very sight of pug marks that are months old, while his landlord traces the fresh ones, and displays incredulous audacity by prancing into the very lair of the beast during a raging gale to lodge a bullet between its blazing eyes? The tales arguably make it difficult to imagine that there could be any other reason than the notion that some sections are naturally predisposed to …

July 9, 2020

  An unusual scene permeated the Social media on Tuesday. About a dozen cadres of Nepali Congress affiliated Nepal Student Union (NSU) staged a silent demonstration in front of the Chinese Embassy. Nepal has occasionally witnessed Free-Tibet protests against China carried out by the Tibetan refugees but Nepalese citizens standing on streets while carrying placards and posters condemning the Chinese Ambassador was unprecedented. The Nepal Communist Party (NCP) is on the verge of a catast…

July 6, 2020

More than two third members of the Standing Committee of Nepal’s ruling Party, the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) have demanded PM KP Oli’s resignation over its utter incompetence in handling the pandemic and for blatant  attempts to bypass Party’s decisions on a number of key issues. However, the PM has quite conspicuously refused to resign and is mulling over opposition’s support to keep up with the number required in the parliament.  He even floated an ide…

June 26, 2020

  Historical Background China and Britain have signed three treaties, all of which China considers as unequal ones. The first one - Treaty of Nanking (Nanjing) was signed after the First Opium War fought between 1839 and 1842, which allowed Britain government to take full control of three main regions of Hong Kong for the next 66 years. The second treaty (Convention of Peking) was signed between China, Britain and French Empire after the Second Opium War between 1856 and 1860 which c…

June 25, 2020

  COVID-19 and tourism industry have sturdy association, but such a relationship is deep negative. With the outbreak of the COVID pandemic, countries banned the movement of people as preventive measures to curb the spread of the virus. Transportations, hotels, and restaurants are the worst-hit sectors by COVID-19 and these sectors are directly linked with the tourism industry. The Great Global Lockdown completely halted the movement of people. Consequently, the labor-intensive tourism i…

June 24, 2020

  The Covid-19 pandemic has caused and continues to create immense suffering. One positive aspect arising from the pandemic, at least for environmentalists, was the initial environmental impacts. A shut-down of economic activities significantly reduced emissions and pollution, receiving praise in the media. Once countries started opening up again, the temporary environmental benefits quickly disappeared. Furthermore, it became evident that the environmental benefits had not been as grea…

June 22, 2020

Last week a border confrontation with China left 20 Indian soldiers and unknown number of Chinese soldiers dead. Soon after, the border patrols on either sides retracted some two miles deep into their respective territories. The talks are underway to further deescalate the situation. However, there are other details which came forward: the confrontation didn’t witness any shots being fired. Reportedly they used rifle butts, fists, clubs and pelted stones at each other. It is perplexing to…

June 17, 2020

    Mexico has a long history of vast oil production and heavy reliance on the resource. This trend started to diverge in the 21st century, with the growth of renewable energy and the great potential renewables have in Mexico. Mexico began to recognize the possibility of shifting towards a more diverse energy supply. Like the rest of the world, Mexico acknowledged the many disadvantages of oil, while renewable energy became increasingly cheaper and reliable. However, in the 2018…

June 12, 2020

  For the past few days protesting masses of predominantly young people have been slowly engulfing the erstwhile deserted streets of Kathmandu Valley. Disenchanted with the leadership, to them the protest seems indispensable. The primary demands of the protest are accountability, quality Quarantine facilities and to emphasize PCR tests rather than continuing with highly controversial RDTs.  Though the demonstration has been peaceful, the Police have resorted to use of force to disp…

June 10, 2020

  Covid-19 as a 21st century Pandemic  in a way has brought the world together, to think of it we all want to win this war against this virus and get back to our ‘normal’ while the ‘new normal’ creeps in our modern lives. In the fight against the virus, there are two main strategies being deployed in the digital arena – Location Tracking and Contact Tracing and since the deadly virus is easily transferable, one cannot think of any other way than to tra…

June 9, 2020

When any seemingly bizarre decision is made by Politicians, most of the time it is either for the love of adventurism or love of their own self. If a decision seems inevitable, we hardly learn to discern the true disposition of the leaders involved in that decision making. So a bizarre decision will give more insight into the inner working of the decision makers. In another words, one would not need any anatomy class to figure out the routes of complex nerves winding up in the brain of those in…