New national anthem

Wednesday, May 17, 2006
National Anthem
After the historic victory of people over king’s rule, many things are in the offing. One such is National Anthem, Rashtriya Gaan. There is a proposed national anthem written by Riddhipani Gautam in Kantipur, 17 May 2006, page 7. If this song becomes our national anthem, I am sure many of us would not own it and would not sing it. The reasons for this is firstly, the words are very difficult to read and sing, and secondly, there are names, which lead one to think and accept that the country of this national anthem is a predominantly Hindu state. It totally neglects and forgets that there are other holy places than that of Hindu only and that Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-lingual country. Some of the examples of such elaborations are:

Pashupati rakchhit Nepal…Muktinath le mukti dine…sajiva Kumari, Naradevi, Dakchhinkali alaukik shaktipeeth….Swargadwari le swarga sulavpath pradarshak…

If you go through the whole text of the proposed anthem, you will agree with me that this cannot be our rashtriya gaan at all. Therefore, why not we write national anthem, which would arouse the national patriotism equally amongst all Nepali, and which would be acceptable and owned by all Nepali. I am sure there are many who can do this. Moreover, why not write our opinions on this issue in the letter to the editor of Kantipur. Those who are interested may kindly write to kanti@kantipur.com.np
Posted by Dr. GP Thapa at 9:51 AM 0 comments

Seminar on CA in 2006

Thursday, July 27, 2006
Seminar on Constituent Assembly
Magar Studies Center organized one day seminar on “Constitution Assembly and Restructuring of State” on 22nd July 2006 in Kathmandu. Two theme papers were presented on this occasion. Mr. Kashiraj Dahal’s paper dealt with the experiences of more than hundred countries in constitution making. Mr Malla K. Sundar elaborated on the views of indigenous and ethnic people of Nepal. Chairman of Magar Sangh also stressed upon some of the demands of Magars. Eminent personalities- professors, scholars, politicians, social activists and people from other walks of life attended it. Dr. Govind Prasad Thapa, Chairperson of the Center, chaired and moderated the session.
Posted by Dr. GP Thapa at 8:29 AM 0 comments

My felicitations on Jan Andolan II

Tuesday, April 25, 2006
My felicitations
Dear all Nepali bandhus,
My warm and hearty felicitations and congratulations to all Nepali people. The people have again proved that they are powerful and they can usher-in changes peacefully, no matter of what magnitude, without resorting to any arms and violent means. Though, it is time to be delirious with joy, yet there are many important tasks ahead to be carried out with utmost diligence and precision. Amongst imminent of them, we have to solve insurgency problem and re-establish peace and harmony, and we have to transform national diversities into opportunities and strengths by arousing and establishing feelings of ownership and patriotism, and commitment, among every single citizen, towards the nation and the national integrity. Let not the joys and excitement of people die and turn into bitter regret and anguish again with the passage of time. Let us hope that the peoples’dreams turn into a reality and that now Nepal moves forward--and forward only--to its ultimate destination of peaceful, prosperous, and greater Nepal.
Dr. Govind Prasad Thapa12 Baisakh 2063/25 April 2006
Posted by Dr. GP Thapa at 2:11 PM 1 comments

Constitution assembly and constitution

Sunday, May 07, 2006
Constituent Assembly and Constitution
The meeting of Magar Sangh Central Committee has decided to form a Working Committee to prepare a concept paper on CA and Constitutional changes. I am the convener. Other members of the Committee are Trilok Singh Thapa, Sangini Rana, and Bhoj Bikram Budha. We had first round meeting today. Almost all Magar Studies Center members and many other Magar intellectuals were present. We have decided to prepare the paper on the following headings:
-Listing the key Magar issues/Major concerns of Magars to be addressed
-Interim Constitution
-Constituent Assembly
-Constitution re-writing
You are kindly requested to send in any type of information or your opinion on these subjects. We hope to present this paper within few weeks time in one of the seminar and then hand over to Magar Sangh.
Posted by Dr. GP Thapa at 8:21 AM 0 comments

Towards peace

Towards peace
The Maoist insurgents have declared unilateral ceasefire on 3rd September 2005. But the government has not done so yet. The government has failed to recognize the demand of the people for peace. In this way the government has politically failed to grab the advantage of the opportunity of re-establishing its faith and image inside and outside the country. The government should have welcomed Maoist’s move and further appealed for everlasting peace by calling and preparing for talks and negotiations.
Posted by Dr. GP Thapa at 10:01 AM 0 comments

First peace and then election

Tuesday, October 18, 2005
First peace then election
The main objective of having elections is to elect a representative or a political leader for the government in a free and fair manner. When there are no freedom to choose, when there are no good candidates or parties, and when there are no voters to vote then such election is no election; it is a folly. The basic prerequisites for election are the conducive situation prevailed by law and order, majority of voters, and candidates or the political parties. Therefore the first thing we need to do is to fulfill these preconditions. Let us have first peace then elections.
Posted by Dr. GP Thapa at 10:06 AM 1 comments

Prerequisites of elections

Thursday, October 20, 2005
Prerequisites of elections
18 Oct 2005. The local municipality elections are scheduled to be held in Magh of this year and the general election for parliament has been slated by the end of next year i.e. end of Chaitra 2063. Sounds good! But the pertinent questions are: will these elections solve all the current political problems? Are we not going to resolve down imminent things before these elections? Two key issues remain to be addressed before these elections--the re-establishment of peace by prevailing law and order, and restructuring of the political system. What about the inclusive type of political system that we have been talking lately? And what about the proportionate representative election system associated with these issues? Don’t you think that these are prerequisites to any elections if we really wish to settle things once for all?
Posted by Dr. GP Thapa at 9:21 PM 1 comments