BY SURENDRA PHUYAL

AMRITSAR, Feb 20 –
This Sikh heartland, at the heart of the bloody Khalistan insurgency that was eventually quashed in the early 1990s, was discussing the problem of terrorism. Afterall, it’s a problem Punjab — which endured the deaths of over 25,000 between 1981-1993 — was so familiar with.

And the concensus was this:

No amount of military pressure can end terrorism or insurgencies plaguing South Asia: be it the bloody separatist struggle going on in India- and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir/s; be it the trouble brewing along the Naxal belt across India’s ‘Red Corridor/, or the problem in North East India; the ethnic bloodbath going on in Sri Lanka; or the ten-year-old Maoist insurgency in Nepal. Read the rest of this entry »

by SURENDRA PHUYAL

It was a Nepali afternoon in Dilli.

It could well be an effort to draw inter/national attention to the plight of Nepal’s rulers and the ruled — and all that paradox.

On the pleasant Sunday afternoon, about 30,000 Nepalis from across Indian coast to coast and hill to plain descended on Dilli’s Ramlila Maidan. That Maidan in the heart of Dilli is famous for Ramlila performance during Dusshera or Navratri.

But on Sunday, as the Maoist revolt entered its 11th year of bloodshed, lootpat and militancy, the Maidan saw Nepalis of all geographic and political hue congregrate for a cause: a peaceful and prosperous Nepal. That they were trucked into Delhi’s heart by Maoist aligned Akhil Bharat Nepali Janadhikar Surakshya Samiti could merely be a coincidence. Read the rest of this entry »

by Surendra Phuyal

For 41-year-old Durga Bahadur Biswokarma – originally hailing from Rolpa, but for the past 18 years a resident of Chandigarh in the north Indian state of Punjab – Sunday’s big demonstration on Delhi’s Parliament Street by Pravashi Nepalis was a great excursion.

“Hami yahan julus ma bhag lina ayeko [We are here to participate in this demonstration],” Biswokarma, who is roughly the same age as Amir, Shahrukh and Salman Khans of Bollywood but looks as old as Dev Anand, said with a wry smile, as his little boys gave some curious glances.

The yet another Nepali demonstration – which has kind of become a routine affair after February 1 royal takeover – was so for Biswokarma’s 11-year-old son, too. It ensured a lot of fun time and socializing opportunities to thousands of other Pravashi Nepalis living in and around the Indian capital, too.

Consider it. Had this not been the season of ‘Loktantrik Andolan’, the kids of Punjab would never had gotten yet another opportunity to play soccer on this Delhi’s heart-streets with Nepali kids from Uttar Pradesh, whose parents, ironically hail from the same village in the mid-west. Read the rest of this entry »

By SURENDRA PHUYAL
(First published in the Kathmandu Post on 2006-01-26)
King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was the chief guest for Thursday’s 57th Republic Day celebrations in the Indian capital. Amidst tight security, the Rajpath spanning British India’s First World War martyrs’ memorial, India Gate, with the Moghul-style palatial Rastrapati Bhawan played host to the colorful parade showcasing the multi-colors and military might of roaring India.

In 1999, it was the late King Birendra of Nepal, who was the chief guest for the big parade. Next year, it was the President of Nigeria, who was followed in the proceeding years by the presidents of Algeria, Mauritius, Iran and Brazil. Again, it was King Jigme Singye Wangchuk of Bhutan who was the chief guest for the 2005 Republic Day parade. Read the rest of this entry »