Nepal: Beauty amid adversity
I first visited Nepal in the Himalayas in 1986, as it was one of the most picturesque countries in Asia and housed the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest.
I traveled by car up to 15,000 feet on more or less paved roads before I decided it was enough and returned to Katmandu, the romantic capital and seat of the government. I was staying at the Oberoi Hotel, which then was the best in the country. Many tourists visit the country in the hope of climbing Mount Everest or claiming to have tried it. Quite a few have succeeded to reach the top.
Apart from the mountains and, of course, the valley, which gave the country its immemorial name, there was not much to speak of. It is extremely poor and backward, so abject that people looked to India for jobs.
I was told that a festival would be held in honor of a girl who had been raised since birth until she reached puberty and then released, but not permitted to marry.
It was more interesting to learn that King Birendra himself would be there together with his wife Aiswarya and the Cabinet. I requested an invitation, which was readily granted, and an opportunity to greet the king and ask him a couple of questions. This too was granted after calls to the palace.
He was dressed like most of his citizens present and asked me if I was well looked after. I was, and he smiled and advised me to travel more in his beautiful but very unfortunate country.
There was no chance for an interview, because time was short and he was not used to giving interviews. Besides, Nepal did not lend itself to extensive exchanges with journalists.
Five years later, the entire family was wiped out by no other than Crown Prince Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah. He machine-gunned everyone in sight including his father, mother and seven others before pointing the gun at himself. Ten members of the royal family were killed during a few minutes.
Another leader I knew was Girija Prasad Koirala, who had a formidable influence on the political life of Nepal. I first met him in Mumbai during the 1960s, when he was in exile and the Indian government had considerable influence on Nepalese life, which it still has. In fact, there are no visas between the two countries, and Nepalese workers can cross the borders and obtain jobs in India without any hassles.By chance, I checked into the then famous Ritz Hotel in Churchgate area of Bombay. He was staying there too in a suite as an Indian government guest.
I requested to see him, as I was then a journalist and publisher of English and Arabic papers in the British Colony of Aden in southern Arabia, now southern Yemen. He had heard of Aden, the main free port east of Suez, as it had the most flourishing transit trade in the region and a large Indian community. So we had something interesting to start with, since Nepal itself was a kind of British protectorate before 1947.
He was a man of peace and never agitated violently to bring down the monarchy and install a republic. He was involved in politics in 1947 by leading a workers'
strike, then founded the Nepal Mazdoor Union, which later became the Nepal Trade Union Congress. He was arrested and imprisoned by King Mahendra following a royal coup in 1960, then released and exiled to India until 1979. He became prime minister four times as head of the Nepali Congress Party and was responsible for legislation in education and health, because the country practically lacked everything in those areas. It was backward and one of the poorest states in the world.
Despite his exile, he was not bitter and said nothing to indicate his hatred of the monarch, who had imprisoned him and then forced him to go to India. This was probably done by consultation with India, which shared with Nepal the Hindu belief, the Hindi language and culture and much of its history.
No mention of Nepal is complete without reference to the legendary Gurkhas, famous for their bravery and defeat of the British armies when the latter tried to annex Nepal. Later on, modern British arms and large numbers of Indian soldiers tipped the balance in favor of the British, who completed their hegemony of Nepal as well as the Indian subcontinent. There are still Gurkhas in the British Army, some in Brunei, and others in the Indian armed forces.
The Gurkhas could not match Britain’s weapons technology in the 18th century, just as the Indian mutineers of 1857 could not stand the British counter onslaught that saved India for the British crown.
Nepal is the birthplace of Siddharta Gautama, “the Buddha,” in a place called Lumbini, which attracts thousands of Buddhists from India and Europe every year.
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