Off the Record 123: Old aches for the new year
Issue 123 • 05 January 2024
It’s January 5, 2024, and you’re reading Off the Record.
I’m Pranaya Rana and in this newsletter, we’ll stop, take a deep breath, and dive into one singular issue that defined the past week.
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Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening from Kathmandu in the year 2024. I hope the new year treats all of you readers better than the last, even though it is but an arbitrary marker of the passage of time. Still, we are humans and we live by our small, comfortable rituals.
The news takes no breaks, though; much has been happening in Nepal over the holiday. There’s no deep dive this week as I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather, so you’ll have to be content with a round-up of the week for the new year’s first newsletter. Let’s jump right in.
Sandeep Lamichhane is guilty
After a grueling year-and-a-half filled with delays and postponements, cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane, on Friday, was finally declared guilty of rape by the Kathmandu District Court. Lamichhane, a member of Nepal’s national cricket team, had been arrested in November 2022 after a woman, allegedly an underage minor, accused him of rape. The Kathmandu District Court found Lamichhane guilty of rape but not of a minor, as his defense team had consistently argued that the survivor was not a minor as she claimed. Lawyers for the survivor, identified only as Gaushala-26, had insisted that she was a 17-year-old minor at the time of the incident, producing academic certificates as proof. The court has reportedly rejected these documents. This means that Lamichhane will be liable for a lighter sentence as Nepali law provides different penalties for rape depending on the age of the victim. Lamichhane’s sentencing has been set for January 10.
While this might seem like some form of justice for Gaushala-26, Lamichhane can still appeal the decision at the Patan High Court and again, at the Supreme Court. He will not spend any time in jail as long as the case remains in appeal, which can mean decades in all. He will continue to live his life as he has lived it so far — out of jail, playing international cricket, celebrated by the Nepali public and even top government officials. Meanwhile, Gaushala-26 will continue to suffer the consequences of daring to speak out against her rapist. She has been vilified for going out with Lamichhane and accused of falsely claiming rape to blackmail Lamichhane. Her character — not the rapist’s — has been a matter of debate.
I leave you once again with Gaushala-26’s testimony, reported by journalist Tufan Neupane.
Update on another Lamichhane
I hope last week’s newsletter shed some light on the ongoing skirmish between Kantipur Publications and Rastriya Swatantra Party chair Rabi Lamichhane. After last week’s back and forth between the two, Kantipur has laid surprisingly low, with no other follow-ups. Lamichhane, meanwhile, has filed a defamation case against Kantipur Publications, naming chairman Kailash Sirohiya, managing director Sambhav Sirohiya, and Kantipur daily editor Umesh Chauhan as defendants. Lamichhane has alleged libel, which carries a sentence of a year in prison and a Rs 10,000 fine. The punishment is doubled if the libel is carried out digitally.
I’m not sure what will come of this lawsuit. Kantipur Publications has an army of lawyers that has fought numerous similar cases in the past. Most famously, controversial businessman Ajeya Raj Sumargi had filed a similar defamation case against Kantipur in 2020, but his case was dismissed by the Kathmandu District Court on the grounds that it couldn’t be ‘sustained’. Nepal’s judiciary generally tends to side with the press in cases like these, upholding the freedom of the press over individual protections against defamation. Lamichhane might have a case here, though. Despite serious accusations against Lamichhane, he hasn’t been charged with a crime by the police. I don’t believe he’s even being investigated, so clearly there’s a lack of inculpatory evidence. I’ll continue to provide updates on the case as they come.
What happened in Balkumari?
Last Friday, two young men died in clashes with the police over job applications to South Korea. How they died remains murky but here’s what happened.
In 2023, thousands of Nepalis had applied for jobs in Korea’s shipbuilding sector. Of the 32,000 applicants who had taken the Employment Permit System (EPS) – Test of Proficiency in Korean, a required Korean language test for job applicants, only around 4,000 passed. This still doesn’t guarantee them jobs but places them on a preference list for Korean employers. Those who failed the test for shipbuilding had asked the government to allow them to apply for jobs in the manufacturing section. The government responded that Korea did not allow applicants for jobs in one sector to apply to another sector. These disgruntled youth took to the streets in protest at Balkumari outside the EPS offices. Most applicants to Korea, a preferred destination for most migrants since they get better pay in better conditions, spend at least two-three years preparing. Most of them are not from Kathmandu but come here to study for the tests and prepare. They spend a lot of time and money just applying, only to be rejected. Understandably, they would be frustrated and angry.
While the youth were protesting, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Prakash Jwala entered the scene. Now we’re not sure what led him there but Jwala says that he was on his way to Singha Durbar and took the route through Balkumari not knowing there was a protest going on. His personal security officer (PSO) was supposed to communicate with the police and make sure the route was clear but he either didn’t do so or the minister insisted on the route despite the PSO’s warnings. Naturally, the protesting youth surrounded the minister’s car and there was a heated exchange of words. Jwala reportedly exited his car and argued with the youth. Jwala managed to escape the scene but the minister’s presence only made things worse. Protestors vandalized and set fire to his vehicle. As the protest wilder, police resorted to using tear gas, baton charges, and firing into the air. In the ensuing melee, two young men died — reportedly, one after being struck in the chest by a baton and the other from gunshot wounds.
In the aftermath of the incident, there was a lot of finger-pointing. Many blamed the police for disproportionate use of force and placed Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha in their crosshairs. Others blamed Jwala for knowingly going to a protest site and enflaming tensions. Thus, as is par the course for incidents like these, an investigative committee has been set up to look into what happened and who is ultimately responsible. The committee is supposed to submit its report today.
Whatever the casus belli was, these kinds of incidents will only keep happening if wide-reaching changes are not made. Government officials might be unwilling to admit just how far gone Nepal is when it comes to its labor force but the rest of the country is not naively optimistic or wilfully blind. There is a very real crisis unfolding. Pretty soon, Nepal will empty, and all our politicians can rule over an empire of dirt.
Three more dead in Ukraine
On Tuesday, Nepal’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that three more Nepalis have died in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. So far, a total of 10 Nepalis have died in the war and that number might only go up. According to Foreign Minister NP Saud, the ministry has received nearly a hundred complaints from family that their children in Russia are either missing or injured. The ministry estimates that around 200 Nepalis are serving in the Russian armed forces but that number is certainly higher. Despite Nepal’s entreaties to Russia that they not accept any more citizens from Nepal, Russia does not appear to be paying any heed. Like I’ve said before, Russia is not going to reject able bodies that it can send to the frontlines. It is up to the Nepal government itself to prevent Nepalis from going to Russia. Towards that end, Nepal has stopped issuing work permits for Russia and Ukraine, something that should’ve been done long ago. Expect more Nepali casualties in the days to come.
Mr Jaishankar comes back to Kathmandu
Photo: MOFA
Finally, we get to what has all of Kathmandu in a tizzy. Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar — the same man dispatched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015 to express India’s ‘concerns’ over the new constitution — was in Kathmandu on Thursday and Friday for the seventh meeting of the Nepal-India Joint Commission. Jaishankar is a divisive figure in Nepal, not just for his role in 2015 that eventually led to the Indian blockade. He is a Modi loyalist and has toed the line when it comes to Nepal. Ever since Nepal issued a new map claiming Kalapani, Lipu Lekh, and Limpiyadhura, relations have been frosty between the two countries with both Jaishankar and Modi giving their Nepali counterparts the cold shoulder. At least, for a while.
Relations have improved in recent times, especially since the Congress and the Maoists came to power. Even so, India has steadfastly refused to talk to Nepal about controversial issues, namely the boundary dispute, the Eminent Persons Group report, and a reevaluation of the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship. All of these are issues India does not want to broach but Nepal has been desperately trying to get the Indians to discuss. Although Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Foreign Minister NP Saud both pledged to raise these issues with Jaishankar, and according to The Kathmandu Post, they were brought up but to no resolution.
Instead, four formal agreements were signed — on long-term power trade, cooperation in renewable energy, Indian grants for community development projects, and partnership with India’s satellite projects. The long-term power trade agreement is perhaps the most significant as Nepal has pledged to export 10,000MW to India over the next 10 years and will continue to export electricity for 25 years. However, there is concern that Nepal will not benefit much from this agreement. Of the 10,000MW that India wishes to import over the next 10 years, 80% will be generated from projects that Indian companies themselves are constructing. Furthermore, India will not buy electricity from projects constructed by Chinese companies, meaning that India stands to gain everything from this agreement. Yes, Nepal will make some money but only under India’s terms and conditions. Nepalis see this agreement as guaranteeing a market for Nepali electricity but that might not be the case. What happens if much of the excess electricity Nepal wants to export comes from hydro projects built under Chinese aid or by Chinese contractors? Who do we sell to then?
The community development agreement is also being looked at with suspicion. Under this agreement, the Indian embassy will now be able to give out grants for community development to local governmental units up to Rs 200 million. This practice was already in place but the limit was Rs 50 million, which has now been increased to Rs 200 million at India’s request. Many commentators have identified this as dangerous but others point out that the grants are not totally discretionary. As Sourav Dhakal points out on Twitter, projects are “first filtered by Nepal before the submission of [the] application to the Indian Embassy” and the Nepal government can filter the projects even after India’s approval. Furthermore, China too provides ‘community development’ aid in much the same manner but is limited almost exclusively to districts that border Tibet. Read the thread and this report for more context.
A group of Nepali civil society activists have outlined their reservations with these agreements in a statement.
Besides these agreements, Jaishankar did the rounds, meeting politicians and cricketers, inaugurating infrastructure built by India, and pledging another Rs 10 billion for reconstruction efforts in Jajarkot and Rukum West after the November earthquake. And then, on Friday, Jaishankar left, leaving Nepalis wondering just what we got out of his visit and how much we might have given away for paisa on the rupee.
A note on the newsletter
Before I leave you, I’d like to thank all of you readers for continuing to read, support, and share this little newsletter. I know that it is not always the most exciting read but I have tried my best to provide a full picture of all that goes in Nepal, without prejudice. It’s also a very long read. In this era of diminished attention spans, I should commend you readers for your patience in sitting down to read a roughly 3,000-word newsletter every week.
When I started this newsletter, I hadn’t imagined that I would end up writing it religiously every week, but it’s been therapeutic for me. It’s kept me abreast of everything that’s going on in Nepal and it’s allowed me an outlet for my writing. We’re now at the 123rd issue, quite an accomplishment if I do say so myself.
I’d especially like to thank those of you who have supported this newsletter financially. It gives me great joy that so many of you have been willing to pledge some of your hard-earned cash towards this newsletter of mine. It also gives me the motivation to keep writing, since many of you are now paying for me to write.
So thank you for all your support over the past year and I hope we can continue to grow into this new year and the next.
I leave you with Virginia Woolf’s 1931 New Year’s resolution:
to have none. not to be tied. to be free and kindly with myself. sometimes to read, sometimes not to read. to go out, yes—but stay at home in spite of being asked. as for clothes, I think to buy good ones.
That’s all for this week. I will be back next Friday, in your emails, for the next edition of Off the Record.
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