Achieving Literacy Goal

Kathmandu was declared a literate city on September 6. The literacy rate in the capital city has reached 96.6 per cent among the people in the 15-60 age group. As per the Central Bureau of Statistics, the literacy rate was 88.52 per cent in Kathmandu a decade ago. As per the criteria developed by the Ministry of Education, a district should have at least 95 per cent literacy to be eligible for being declared a literate district. There was a plan to declare the capital city as such in Februar

Afghan Refugee Crisis Headache For Europe

Afghan refugees have become a real headache for Europe. Now in the EU there are more than 200 thousand Afghans, whose status has not yet been determined. According to the German tabloid Bild, requests from migrants for asylum were not accepted, but not desperate fugitives still did not return to their homeland, where the Taliban now rule. The migration services have so far been in no hurry with hospitality, while the new Afghan authorities are demanding deportation of the fugitives home.

Dharan-Dhankuta Trek Recalled

Sometime in 1961. A throng used to collect out of nowhere, curious over what happened. Two bulls gone amok emerged from nearby lanes connecting New Road in Kathmandu. With very little motor traffic, the stray bulls locked horns amid shouts, cheers, comments and laughter from the teeming crowd. Children, many of them without shoes, managed to squeeze themselves in to satisfy their curiosity. The incident comes back in a flashback as if it had happened only a few years ago. Then follow torrent of...

Feminisation Of Poverty

There is often contentious link between gender and poverty. But in most cases, women are the prime sufferers of poverty. Feminisation of poverty is often perceived in terms of women having greater prevalence of poverty in comparison to men and severity of poverty being greater in case of women. Many forms of disadvantage prevail against women, including various types of discrimination and denial of human rights regardless of class or race. And women are being viewed as i

Quest For A Partner

Through evolution, nature refines our bodies by removing or modifying the unwanted parts. Over the years, the ritual of finding partners has also been touched by this law of nature. Some notable practices across the different timelines include displaying acts of bravery, marrying to increase power, exchanging goods in return for mates, etc. In the current scenario, the methods have diversified leaving the concerned parties with various emotional states depending on the outcome. It is worth discussing...

Let Parliament Run Smoothly

Nepal’s federal parliament has now turned into a ground of political battle. The main opposition CPN-UML continues to disrupt the House business to protest the Speaker’s refusal to dismiss 14 lawmakers, who disobeyed the party whip in the past and are now associated with CPN-Unified Socialist. But UML’s demand for action against its previous MPs lacks constitutional clarity. It took action against them several times and also decided to backtrack from it to create an atmosphere conducive to...

Lesson From COVID-19 Pandemic

More than one and a half years since the onset of COVID-19, every aspect of people’s life has still remained affected. Over 4.6 million people have died from this pandemic since January 2020. Many more are destined to die before we are equipped with better ways to manage or eradica

Scientific Socialism

SCIENTIFIC socialism and democratic socialism are entirely different terminologies in the political philosophy. Democratic socialism is synonymous with utopian socialism. It is like a big pond that has the capacity to absorb the water from various rivulets.

Democracy Needs Enlightened Citizens

Information revolution marks the beginning of post-modern age but unequal access of citizens to information, commercialisation of information and education and unreasonable control over their flows have augmented a new form of domination of society, not fertilised unfettered freedom for all. These new forms of cultural production have abridged the role of justice, public reason and morality and enlarged the role of informational power in breeding new rituals of truth. It is a truth less grounded...

Why More COVID Cases In Fully Inoculated People?

Many people are worried about reports of “breakthrough” COVID-19 infections overseas, from places like Israel and the United States. A breakthrough infection is when someone tests positive for COVID after being fully vaccinated, regardless of symptoms.

Knowing Cha Dhoka

Many of us in the Kathmandu Valley have seen Cha Dhoka of Patan or at least heard of it. If you are a resident of Patan, then you have almost certainly passed through this monument. This is not a hidden or overlooked structure in a back alley somewhere. No, it stands prominently in one of the busiest streets of the city. We, no doubt, know of it, but do we know about it? The great white gate standing in Kotlachhi with its three passages, tw

Pursuing Nuke Weapons As Insurance

Ever since nuclear weapons were manufactured in 1945, the countries possessing them have their own motivation to retain them despite their pledges to get rid of them as part of their obligations as required by the 1968 Treaty on the Non-proliferation of the Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The number of countries having nuclear weapons has now reached nine. The international community recognises only five nations – the US, Russia, the UK, France and China – as the sole possessors of nuclear weapons. Nuclear...

BRICS Can Improve China-India Ties

In the coming days, leaders of China and India will come face to face at quite a few meetings. On Thursday, India will chair 13th BRICS summit followed by Tajikistan hosting a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Dushanbe next week. Among others things, the regional implications of the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan will be a big concern. Depending on what transpires at these two meetings, interlocutors from China and India could explore opportunities for more interactions during...

Shun Gender Labels

Gender roles are so common, especially in the patriarchal society like ours. Both males and females are expected to perform different tasks assigned by the society. Males are considered to have the upper hand in decision making as they are the breadwinners of the family. Females are seen performing household chores, reproductive and productive tasks. This type of segregation deepens gender inequality in our society. Yet, very few are able to break free from gender roles and the inequality.

Give Momentum To TRC

The chronic cases related with transitional justice lying pending in the Supreme Court of Nepal indicate that the festering conflict era incidents of the alleged human rights violations are yet to be dealt with and settled. Needless to say, most of such cases of alleged human rights abuses and violations are taken care by Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRCs) which are generally constituted in the conflict torn countries like Nepal to bring out the truth and confirm what had happened during...

Consequences Of Neoliberalism In Eastern Europe

Over the past decade or so the euphoria associated with the collapse of communism has turned to pessimism, as many once-promising democracies in Eastern Europe have slid into illiberalism and even authoritarianism. Understanding why this happened is crucial not only for scholars of the region but supporters of democracy worldwide.

Purifying Sins Or Culture?

Haritalika Teej is one of the biggest festivals for Nepali women, which is celebrated across the nation with ecstasy and fervour. The festival is observed for three days including 'dar khane din' where women munch on their favourite delicacies before rigidly fasting for 24 hours for the longevity of their husbands on the second day. On the third day of Teej, also known as Rishi Panchami, women take baths in holy rivers or at home for their 'purification'. It is said that taking bath on Rishi Panchami...

Respect Women’s Dignity

On the eve of Teej, it is important to reflect a bit on the impact of traditions, culture and religion on societies and the market place. “The teej song ‘bich bichma khyassa putali’ by Dugesh Thapa needs to be removed from YouTube and the necessary action needs to be taken against the singers for defaming and making fun of women and on one of the festivals that is associated with them,” says advocate Bishnu Bashyal, lecturer at Nepal Law College. After her comment, I listened to the song....

The Colonial Trap

On February 20, 1947, Clement Attlee, the socialist British prime minister, informed parliament that India would become independent no later than June 1948. Attlee could not wait for the British to withdraw from a country whose leaders, Muslim and Hindu, had long been clamouring for independence. But India was seething with violent unrest. Muslim leaders were afraid of Hindu dominance. Worried that a civil war might land the British in an uncontrollable situation, Attlee decided to end the British...

Teej Festival

Teej is a celebration of the sanctity of womanhood and the sacred worship of Lord Shiva. Every year in Teej, one can observe girls and women decked up in red finery. Especially women adorn themselves in red saris draped across their lithe bodies. Extravagant gold jewelleries complete their looks along with elaborate hairdos and accessories. Girls likewise wear kurtha salwar tailor made to the latest fashion. Lately, pompous and garish celebrations mark the festival which used to be about being true...