India does hold the key to Nepal’s future: not only in terms of mainstream politics, but also with regard to the intensifying Maoist peril

By Nishchal M.S. Basnyat

Nishchal M.S. Basnyat
“So, we went to Lucknow to meet the Maoist leaders. We walked and talked with them openly. We strolled through the crowded streets and stepped into a small teashop, talked some more, and then went back to their place. I was surprised to see that they weren’t worried the slightest about who they were and how much they were wanted by the Nepali police”. These were the startling words from a late night conversation in Brussels with one of Nepal’s most prominent politicians. He was recalling how he met both leaders of the Nepali Maoist Movement, Dr. Baburam Bhattarai and Prachanda, in India sometime back.

The answer to Nepal’s internal strife is so obvious we don’t see it. Albeit an overdone patriotic adage, India does hold the key to Nepal’s future, not only in terms of mainstream politics, but also with regards to the intensifying Maoist peril. While acknowledging the fact that the Nepali Maoist movement is a deep-rooted, homegrown revolution that will take years to overcome, we must also confront ourselves with the palpable fact that India hasn’t stopped sprinkling salt on Nepal’s political wound.

There are significant ways India is indirectly aiding the revolution in Nepal. First, India is a safe haven for Nepali Maoist leaders and cadres. It is an irrefutable fact that India is harboring Nepali insurgents. The royal government, including the Royal Nepalese Army, has repeatedly urged India to incarcerate the Maoist leaders. While India plays politics by promising to hunt down Nepali rebels, Indian politicians and government officials meet secretly with high-ranking Maoists like Dr. Bhattarai (an incident that was highly publicized). The recent meeting in New Delhi between the political leaders and the Maoists, and also the meetings going on right now between NC, UML and Maoists in India, is yet another example of India purposely refusing to keep a check on the movement of Maoist Leaders.

Second, it is not difficult to track down and capture Maoist leaders. If our brilliant politicians like Girija Koirala and Madhav Kumar Nepal can approach them with such ease, if our journalists and media houses have contacts with them, and if even foreign journalists have an effortless time finding them, are we to understand that an intelligence agency belonging to an emerging regional power cannot hunt down Nepal’s Maoist leaders?

Third, where are the arms coming from? We would have to be too naïve to think that all of the weapons that the Maoists hold come from the post-battle lootings with the Royal Nepalese Army or Nepal Police. They certainly don’t come from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Pakistan or Tibet. The long border we have with India is an “ammunition pump” for Nepal’s insurgency movement. We are not talking about smuggling minute amounts of pistols and bullets. These are massive amounts of weapons, large enough to equip thousands of Maoist foot soldiers. And then you might ponder over the question of who is selling them. The Indian Maoists and other such groups that are supporting Nepal’s Maoist revolution are far too weak to possess such resources. Think about, however, what happens to antiquated Indian army weapons. They are expensive to destroy and expensive to store, while profit can be made from selling these unwanted weapons.

Previous research done by Nepali journalists with the help of ex-Gorkha soldiers from India has revealed the astonishing link between splinter groups and renegade elements within the Indian army and Nepal’s Maoist movement. Home Minister Kamal Thapa may have pointed towards such a possibility by telling reporters last week that huge cache of explosives that were seized in Bhairahawa a few days back could not have been bought from “black market” in India alone.

Fourth, most of Nepal’s Maoist leaders are Indian-educated. How can we ever gauge the connections that a leader like Dr. Bhattarai must have garnered in the campuses of Jawaharlal Nehru University during his Ph. D. years? How can we measure the amount of acquaintances that Chairman Prachanda had with groups like The People’s War Group (PWG), the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) even before Nepal’s so-called “People’s War”? Today, Nepal’s Maoist movement has joined the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (RIM) and is being provided aid, security and arms by pro-Maoist parties in India. There are Indian fingerprints on Nepal’s insurgency since its very infancy.

Fifth, even after requests from the Nepal government, India hasn’t handed Nepal many of the Maoist leaders arrested in India. The most shocking news came after the arrest of Mohan Vaidya alias ‘Kiran’ (one of the top five Nepali Maoist leaders). He was granted the status of a ‘political prisoner’ by an Indian court, which will provide him leeway and facilities that other normal prisoners will not receive. How can Nepali Maoist leaders, who have so much blood on their hands and are acknowledged by India as ‘terrorists’, still receive such flexibility in punishment?

Sixth, the Nepali population in India is adding fuel to this Maoist fire. The major organisations close to the Maoists that are active in India are the All India Nepali Unity Society, the All India Nepali Students’ Association, the All India Nepali Youth Association and the All India Ethnic Society. Even the once neutral Akhil Bharatiya Nepal Ekta Samaj (ABNES), established for the unity and betterment of the Nepali community in India, has been delving into dissident revolutionary activities. While the Indian government assures Nepal that it is doing its best to help, it turns a blind eye on open Maoist activities throughout the country. In the words of Prachanda, during his speech at the Second National Conference of CPN (M) in February 2001, “…the success of the Nepali People’s War and revolution cannot be imagined if Nepalese dwelling in India are separated from it…”

Seventh, Indian Maoists have already infiltrated the Nepali “People’s War”. During the Muga/Dhankuta attacks in 2004 where several high level Royal Nepalese Army officers were killed, there were reports that Indian Maoist cadres were involved in the attacks. Though it is next to impossible to independently verify such claims, Indian media has reported time and again that Terai region of Nepal has turned into a safe haven for Indian Maoists, similar to how Nepalese Maoists have found a safe haven in India.

The solution to Nepal’s grave difficulty is not with the King, nor is it with the political parties. In fact, the answer doesn’t lie in the country at all. The true pragmatic solution to our misery lies somewhere across the border, in India.
So, now you must be wondering how India would benefit from perpetual turmoil in Nepal? Remember companies like Kodak that moved their factories from Nepal to India? They did this primarily because Nepal was too unstable. India’s Nepal policy has always been directed from its security concerns. India’s rivalry with China and Nepal’s geo-strategic position offer enough explanation to the “Maoist insurgency” that we are facing for the last ten years.

We must get past the “big brother, small brother” mentality that we have regarding India. While we burn tires on the streets of Kathmandu and parade for the name of democracy at home, we overlook the fact that India holds Nepal’s cure to terrorism. While a brother kills a brother at home, India has been keeping a blind eye towards those who are responsible for mass murder and heartless torture. It is true that, at home, we don’t even have a democracy. But in today’s Nepal, where guns speak louder than words, we have to think about the safety and security of the nation before we start protesting for democracy. This is not a call to divert blame from one faction to another. However, we are directing our anguish and aggravation towards the wrong path, and by doing so we are simply hurting ourselves and impeding any sort of development in the country.

While China and Pakistan feed the Royal Nepalese Army with fresh ammunition from one side, the Maoists are being fed by India from the other side. How long are we going to protest against ourselves? How long are we going to close down our own schools and our own shops?

While our “astute” Nepali Politicians journey to India for political blessings from the Indian government, Dr. Bhattarai will be giving his interview to the BBC Nepali Service from the comfort of Indian soil. While we read the grotesque news of more brothers being killed at home, we will switch on the TV and see Krishna Bahadur Mahara, the Maoist spokesman, giving an interview to CNN, comfortably strolling through a University Park in India. How long are we going to be blind to the obvious? It’s time to put the clues together.

The solution to Nepal’s grave difficulty is not with the King, nor is it with the political parties. In fact, the answer doesn’t lie in the country at all. The true pragmatic solution to our misery lies somewhere across the border, in India.

Basnyat is currently an undergraduate student at the Harvard University. Nepalnews believes in open and unbiased debate and doesn’t necessarily subscribe to the views expressed by our Guest Writers. Please send your comments to [email protected] or [email protected]

(Editor’s Note: Nepalis, wherever they live, as well as friends of Nepal around the globe are requested to contribute their views/opinions/recollections etc. on issues concerning present day Nepal to the Guest Column of Nepalnews. Length of the article should not be more than 1,000 words and may be edited for the purpose of clarity and space. Relevant photos as well as photo of the author may also be sent along with the article. Please send your write-ups to [email protected])

Missing from his well-known meditation site– at the lap of a peepal tree in the forest of Rantapuri in the southern district of Bara– for more than 24 hours, 16-year-old Ram Bahadur Bomjan– popularly known as ‘Little Buddha’ — continues to make headlines in major media outlets around the world.

The peepal tree under which Ram Bahadur Bamjan used to meditate at Ratanpuri of Bara. (Photo source : THT)

The peepal tree under which Ram Bahadur Bamjan used to meditate at Ratanpuri of Bara. (Photo source : THT)
Though police is yet to venture out to look for the ‘mystery boy” to avoid encounter with the Maoist rebels, hundreds of local villagers are searching the area hoping that they may find him meditating deep in the forest.

Bomjan “disappeared” from the site of his meditation from early Saturday without telling anybody where he was heading. Police have refuted reports that he may have been abducted.

How and where did Bomjan start meditation has become a popular story by now. On May 17 last year, he started meditation under a Peepal tree near his house –protected on both sides by wings of the trunk enclosing him in a tender embrace—reportedly without taking any food and even water.

The meditation site is seven km inside the Charkose Jhadee, located to the north of the east-west Mahendra Highway. The nearest town Nijgadh of Bara, lies at a distance of about one km.

Even if the number of pilgrims and observers thinned out in later days compared to two months ago, microbuses have not stopped operating from the highway to the meditation site. Private jeeps, cars and motorcycles still are seen in queue to get “darshan” of the young Buddha.

Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh and US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.

(Photo source : telegraph.co.uk)
The meditation site has been cordoned off with ropes. The first cordon is 25 metres away from the actual place where Bomjon sits cross-legged while the second cordon lies 50 metres away. A third was being planned to stop the approach of people near him that would disturb mediation. A vehicle park has been constructed leaving Ram at the centre of an ever growing circle of rubbish. Media personnel and investigation teams were allowed to go up to first cordon but were not allowed to make noise or touch him.

Buddhists flags are raised from distant place. Between 5:00 p. m. and 5:00 a. m. nobody was allowed to see him, and a screen was erected for that purpose. Many people speculated that he ate and drank during that time.

Early life

Bomjan was born in February 1990 in Ratnapuri village of the district. Bomjon studied Buddhism for five years after attending the local primary school till class five. He was accepted into the priesthood by Som Bahadur Lama of Sudha, Ward 8 of Chhatiwan Village Development Committee. He then spent some time in Lumbini in 2003 and Bodhgaya ( India) in 2004, spending one more year studying Buddhism and returned home last January. Returning home from India, he became ill for some time, and when he recovered he walked with a limp. He studied Buddhism on his own at home after returning from India.

“He never touched any meat or fish, nor did he drink any alcohol. He was so different from others,” said his mother, Mayadevi. “He never fought with anyone and was peaceful by nature. He, however, hesitated to shave his head,” she added.

Interestingly, the name of Lord Buddha’s mother was Mayadevi and he meditated also under a peepal tree. He had achieved enlightenment after meditating for 49 days, according to Buddhist scriptures.

Bomjan, also called sometimes as Dorje by his friends, often acted differently from his childhood, frequently observing other people in worship and praying himself. He was born with a “peaceful nature” and would never get into a fight or kill an animal. Beginning at the age of five he only took leftovers for food, and went hungry if there was nothing.

According to reports, on May 16 last year, he admonished his family to not kill animals or drink alcohol, then left home while they slept. A search was conducted and he was found under a nearby Peepal tree in meditation. He told his family to go home and not to worry about him.

‘The Buddha’

Within days, local Buddhist leaders and villagers claimed that he was a reincarnation of Lord Buddha born about 6 th century BC at Lumbini, southern Nepal. Ram, however, told them, “Tell the people not to call me a Buddha. I don’t have Buddha’s energy. I am at the level of Rinpoche– the lesser divinity.” He was quoted as saying that he would need six more years of meditation before he may become one.

According to Buddhist beliefs, once a person reaches the state of enlightenment (bodhi) and becomes a Buddha, he is never reincarnated. To become one with Buddha means ending the continuous cycle of birth, death, and rebirth that it is believed the soul goes through until it reaches enlightenment. Any human being can become a Buddha by realising the true nature of existence, but when one reaches this point, the soul will not be reincarnated.

Nobody has seen Bomjan leave the tree at least during the daytime, but he was not watched at night, and nobody was allowed to approach him too closely. He did not respond to any questions.

On July 24 last year, Bomjan opened his eyes to tell his brother to call him “Om Namo Buddha Gyani” (“Salute to the wise Buddha”).

He spoke up when he was reportedly bitten by a snake twice. His followers said he was healed automatically and did not need any medical treatment.

Management and publicity

People usually tend to be in search of miracles, more so if you are in the middle of a violent conflict. The ‘little Buddha’ attracted thousands of visitors from around the country and became “hot news” for media from all over the world. International news channels like CNN, BBC, and other major news agencies carried a number of stories on the meditating Bomjan.

People from different walks of life started pouring into the meditation site since last October after Bomjon got publicity as the re-incarnation of Lord Buddha. Millions have visited the site so far. “Om Namobuddha Tapoban Protection Conservation Committee” headed by Bed Bahadur Thing was constituted for the management of the meditation site.

A local conundrum

A joint meeting of the district administration, security bodies and representatives of the committee held at the Zonal Administration Office on November 18, last year, had decided to screen the meditating boy and stop visitors from seeing him. Before this, the District Administration Office of Bara had ordered the Committee to furnish its income-expenditure details.

Security forces claimed that large portion of the money and other offerings made at the meditation site and the amount collected from selling Bomjon’s pictures, CDs and biography goes to the Maoists. The management committee refuted such allegations and said the collection was spent on the management of the area and was never given in donations to the rebels. They also appealed both the warring sides to declare the area as zone of peace.

No scientific tests were undertaken

An eight-member team of health workers headed by district hospital’s Medical Superintendent Ram Lakhan Shah observed the meditating boy for half an hour on November 14, 2005. The medical team that made the observation from a distance of five metres concluded that there was no doubt that Bomjon was alive and suggested that they needed to observe him for at least a week to reach into any conclusion. During the half hour observation the medical team noticed Bomjon breathing three times, swallow his saliva once and move his eyelashes.

The district administration on November 16, 2005 had written to the Royal Nepal Academy for Science and Technology (RONAST) and the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT) to carry out Bomjon’s medical examinations.

In December 2005, a nine-member committee led by Gunjaman Lama watched Bomjan carefully for 48 hours and observed him not to take any food or water during that time. A video recording was also made of this test. However, they were unable to approach him closer than three meters or take readings of his vital signs, other than to confirm that he was alive and breathing.

The team suggested testing his blood to prove whether he has taken any food but the management committee rejected the proposal. Any physical examination of Bomjon was not acceptable to the Committee.

Money matters

With the influx of the people a thriving market grew in the once pristine forest, supplying pilgrims with everything from chewing tobacco and bicycle repairs to incense and sacred amulets. The ground was covered in litter.

Prakash Lamsal, a local businessman was quoted by the London based newspaper Telegraph as saying that “Some people are selling 2,500 rupees worth of tea a day.” Business of other consumable goods, items for offering to the ‘Buddha’ and flowers have grown up at large.

“These lamas [monks] are going to build mansions out of this. If I wasn’t a bit embarrassed I’d take a van down there and set up a stall,” Lamsal said.

Sales of booklets and pamphlets depicting the life and discourse of Buddhism increased. Hawkers in Kathmandu and other major cities sell booklets and CDs. Many of them sell more than 100 pieces a day.

Photographs of Bomjan are available for five rupees from his makeshift shrine and have become ubiquitous across the region.

The mysterious escape of Bomjan from early Saturday has only added to the curiosity of the people and is likely to come up with more stories regarding his life and future.

Seven people were injured when they clashed with a gang of about 25 armed dacoits at Kisanpur Village Development Committee (VDC) of Sarlahi district on Thursday night.

The gang looted property worth thousands of rupees from 40 different houses at Laguwatole of the VDC.

Report quoted Mahesh Kumar Roy, a local as saying that Arun Kumar Roy (30), Ramji Mahato (45) and Kamal Roy (25) were injured when the dacoits opened fire on the locals. The dacoits beat up Mane Singh (30), Suresh Roy (45), Kisan Roy (41) and Sunil Kumar Roy (30).

Arun, Ramji and Kamal are undergoing treatment at the Malangwa-based Tribhuvan Hospital.

10 civilians and two policemen were injured by Maoist bombs in Mahottari and Bara districts on Friday.

Six civilians were injured in Bankekhola area along the Mahendra Highway when the rebels set off an explosion to enforce their two-day bandh in Mahottari and Sarlahi districts, according to reports.

The injured were passengers headed for various destinations who were forced to walk because of the bandh. Hem Bahadur Ghimire, Januka Poudel and Saraswoti Khanal of Sarlahi, Mithila Bahadur Raut of Barathawa and Gopendra Bahadur Chhettri of Dharan were injured, reports quoted security sources as saying.

Of the injured, Ghimire is undergoing treatment at the District Hospital in Birgunj, while Raut was rushed to Janakpur. The rest were discharged after preliminary treatment.

Maoists have planted bombs in at least 25 places along the 30 km stretch of the highway from Bardibas to Phuljor area.

Maoists called the bandh saying security personnel had killed three of their cadres after taking them into detention in the two districts.

Meanwhile, in Bara, six people, four civilians and two policemen were injured when Maoists detonated a socket bomb at Kalaiya Municipalilty oin Friday.

Maoists detonated the bomb targeting a police van that was patrolling the area.

Head Constable Man Bahadur Ale, policeman Chakra Bahadur Khadka, and pedestrians Bharat Mahat, Mohd Jawahar Alam, Basanti Chau-dhary and Bishwabandhu Jha, all from Kalaiya were injured in the incident.

At a time the decision of the government to allow Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) to operate FM stations is getting criticism from all walks of life, former Brigadier General of RNA Dipta Prakash Shah has also objected the RNA’s plan to run FM stations.

Chairman of SAFMA Nepal Chapter, Gopal Thapaliya, said the army’s interest to run FM stations was another step towards curbing free press.

“The army is not anyone’s personal property. There is a clear legal provision about what they can and cannot do,” he said, adding, the RNA’s interest in FM radios is illegal.

Stating that the RNA’s intention behind wanting to run FM stations was not clear, Shah added, “Is it to quell the insurgency, for propaganda purposes, or to strengthen a particular political force?”

If the RNA had good intentions behind airing their activities, they could have bought time from any of the two dozens FM stations running across the country, Shah added.

“To allow the RNA to run FM station in contravention of RNA ACT is to politicise the army,” he further said.

The government had recently decided to let the RNA open FM stations in all five development regions as well as in the capital.

Coordinator of the Save Independent Radio Movement (SIRM) Raghu Mainali said the army wanting to take part in political, economic and logistic spheres of the State was a matter of grave concern to every citizen.

“The plan is yet another conspiracy to dry up the (economic) resources of independent FM stations,” he added.

Chairman of SAFMA Nepal Chapter, Gopal Thapaliya, said the army’s interest to run FM stations was another step towards curbing free press.

Senior journalist Harihar Birahi warned that the government was trying to create monopoly even in FM stations.

Ram Bomjan—a 16-year-old boy described as “little Buddha” who was meditating in a forest at Ratanpuri in the southern district of Bara for the last ten months—has been reported as missing since Saturday morning.

Latest reports say Bomjan may have shifted to another location deep inside the forest away from hustle and bustle at the place where he was meditating since early last year.

Ram Lama, member secretary of the committee that manages hundreds of devotees who visit the Ratnapuri to have “darshan” of the young boy, said he did not have any idea where Bomjan may have left. He, however, dismissed reports saying that Bomjan may have been abducted.

“He has left along with one of his colleagues. He must have gone in search of a quieter place,” radio reports quoted Lama as saying.

Meanwhile, police in Bara district said they had launched a search to locate Mr. Bomjan.

Details are still awaited.

Vice-Chairman in the council of ministers Kirti Nidhi Bista has dismissed recent remarks by another vice chairman in the cabinet, Dr Tulsi Giri’s remarks that collaboration between the constitutional forces were not going to resolve the country’s crisis as his personal opinion.

Talking to media persons during a function in the capital on Friday, Bista said the government was in favour of holding dialogue with the political parties in order to find a solution to address the country’s problems. He said solution to the present crisis would not be found without the active participation of the political parties.

“There is no possibility of finding a solution of national problems without bringing the constitution forces — king and the parties – in a common platform,” he insisted.

Addressing a conference of pro-government journalists in the capital on Thursday, Giri said that there was no guarantee of “quelling terrorism” even if the king and the parties came together, adding, ‘terrorism’ had emerged during the parties’ rule.

Talking to reporters at the tea reception organized by the Rastriya Janashakti Party (RJP) on the occasion of its first anniversary, Chairman of RJP and former prime minister Surya Bahadur Thapa also dismissed Dr Giri’s remarks saying that he was not the main character in the country’s politics.

“Environment is the most powerful thing. When situation will compel, people will have to give up their ego and sit on the table of negotiations,” he added.

Home minister Kamal Thapa, too, said reconciliation among constitutional forces was essential for bailing the country out of the present crisis.

Minister Thapa, however, said there was no possibility of immediate truce with the rebels.

The first general convention of National Federation of Journalists (NFEJ) has concluded in the capital on Saturday electing a new executive committee.

The convention has elected senior journalist Nirod Raj Pandey as its first elected chairman.

Jasuda Pradhan and Kumar Yatru have been elected as the vice-chairperson and general secretary, respectively.

Karna Dhital has been elected to the post of the treasurer.

Mohan Dhungel, Anjana Rawal and Ram Hari Chaulagain are the newly elected members of the federation.

Sabin Chamling, Kabindra Sharma, Rama Mani Sitaula and Maiya Khanal are also the newly-elected members.

The NFEJ was established by scribes suporting the February 1 royal takeover of last year expressing dissatisfaction over the performance of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) last year.

Nepali Congress-Democratic (NC-D) has urged the government to provide proper medical treatment to detained party leader Gopal Man Shrestha.

Issuing a statement Saturday, the party stated that though doctors attending him have referred him for a prostrate operation, the government has not taken due initiative in this regard.

The party further added another detained leader, Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat, was also suffering from abdominal and back complications.

It has also called for immediate release of the detained leaders.

The leaders have remained in custody since January 19, ahead of the proposed mass meeting of the seven agitating political parties on January 20.

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has urged the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) to release over two dozen security personnel said to be under their custody.

Map of Nawalparasi (File photo)
In a statement issued on Friday, the Commission said it had received preliminary information saying that the rebels had taken into custody a total of 28 security personnel including 21 soldiers, six Armed Police Force personnel and a policeman after clashes at Rambhapur of western terai district of Nawalparasi on Thursday.

The Commission has urged the rebels to treat the security personnel under their custody in accordance with international humanitarian law and release them unharmed without any precondition.

Meanwhile, in a statement issued on Friday, the CPN (Maoist) has said it has taken into custody 12 security personnel after Nawalparasi clashes. A spokesman of the Maoist armed wing, Ramesh Koirala, said all the security personnel under their custody were being treated as per the Geneva conventions and that they will be released soon after fulfilling necessary procedure. He said four of the soldiers they have taken into custody were the same who had been taken into custody after Palpa clashes.

Nearly two dozen people, including over a dozen security personnel, are reported killed during fierce clashes in Nawalparasi on Thursday. A 21-year-old young woman was killed and three other civilians were injured when the explosives laid down by the rebels along the highway exploded.

The authorities have confirmed the incident but said they are still awaiting for details.