Off the Record 107: Cops transferred, election rigged, beef eaten & everything else
Issue 107 • 25 August 2023
It’s August 25, 2023, 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 wet Kathmandu. The monsoon is in its final throes and it is not going out without a vengeance. There is rain almost every day and the weather has gotten colder. While this means that dengue-carrying mosquitos will probably die out pretty soon, other water and cold-related ailments are certain to arise, given just how weak the Kathmandu constitution is through years of being buffeted by pollution and dodgy foodstuff. I for one have recovered from my bout with tonsilitis and am back to writing this newsletter with a clear head.
This week, though, has been kind of slow and there’s nothing substantial to get into for a deep dive. So this edition will be an overview of various events and happenings. Let’s get right into it.
Top cops transferred
AIG Shyam Gyawali, top left. Image: The Kathmandu Post
Just when I thought that I could finally wholly appreciate the work that Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha are doing in regard to fighting corruption, they go and let me down. Despite Dahal’s proclamation that no one would be spared, his Cabinet okayed the transfer of five Assistant Inspector Generals (AIG) of the Nepal Police. This includes AIG Shyam Gyawali who was leading the investigation into the fake Bhutanese refugee scam that has landed some top politicians and bureaucrats in jail. Six more Senior Superintendents who were assisting Gyawali in the investigation are also on the cards to be transferred out of active investigation and into administrative roles.
According to an anonymous Home Ministry source quoted in a Kathmandu Post article, the intention was to just transfer Gyawali and the four others were just collateral damage. And according to that same report, Home Minister Shrestha was reportedly vehemently against the transfer and had pleaded with Prime Minister Dahal and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba to halt the transfer. But the transfer went ahead regardless. So some kudos must still go to Shrestha for at least putting up a fight.
So why were these cops transferred, you might be asking? Well, it’s because Gyawali was apparently incorruptible and was not willing to let the involvement of some Nepali Congress bigwigs — namely Arzu Rana Deuba, wife of Sher Bahadur Deuba — slide. Gyawali had Shrestha’s full support and was thus able to resist political pressure. But in the end, Madam Deuba got her way. Prime Minister Dahal, who leads a coalition government where the Nepali Congress is the majority partner, could no longer resist pressure, it seems. Deuba had drawn a line in the sand that if his wife was implicated in any way, the government would most certainly collapse. Dahal was reluctant, holding on to the transfer proposal for over two weeks before finally succumbing to Deuba and his cronies.
AIG Gyawali was also reportedly at odds with his boss, Inspector General Basanta Kunwar, who himself is implicated in the refugee scam. The case first came to the notice of the police in June 2022 when Kunwar was chief of the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office. A complaint against two of the ringleaders of the refugee signed by 81 victims was registered with the office but Kunwar first ignored the case and later, reluctantly took the two accused into custody. However, Bal Krishna Khand, the Nepali Congress politician who is currently in jail in connection with the scam, ordered their release, as he was Home Minister at the time. Kunwar duly complied and was rewarded by the ministry by being promoted to Deputy Inspector General and eventually full Inspector General. News portals have also obtained screenshots of texts from the accused implicating Kunwar directly for having received cash in exchange for their release.
So by transferring AIG Gyawali and two Senior Superintendents — Manoj KC and Dan Bahadur Kharki — to administrative roles, the investigation has pretty much been scuppered. That’s the fear, at least. The majority of the blame, however, must go to Deuba and his wife who’ve bullied Dahal and Shrestha into doing what they want under threat of government collapse. Dahal, of course, could’ve resisted the pressure but it likely would’ve removed him from power and then there wouldn’t be an investigation in any case.
It remains to be seen whether the replacements of these top cops will pursue the investigation with the same zeal that their predecessors did but it doesn’t seem likely.
Maoist duplicity
Krishna Bahadur Mahara and son. Image: social media
All of that said, the Maoists aren’t innocent either. The Congress might’ve been venal in its pursuit of police transfers but Dahal’s Maoist party, which currently leads government, has shown little sign of applying the same stringent measures to its own party members that it has shown to Congress politicians. For instance, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, a senior Maoist politician and former Speaker of the House, has been spared any investigation into his role in the smuggling of gold via Tribhuvan International Airport. Despite evidence unearthed by the police that would’ve necessitated a thorough investigation, like over 200 call and text logs between Mahara, Mahara’s son, and the smugglers, neither Mahara nor his son Rahul have been summoned to give a statement.
The CPN-UML, the opposition, had been obstructing the House of Representatives for over a month demanding that the government constitute an independent inquiry commission to look into the smuggling. The UML believes that the government is targeting its party members while allowing Maoist politicians to go free. That accusation is not without substance, given the way Mahara has been treated. Finally, on Thursday, the government and the UML reached an agreement to allow the police to continue with the investigation into the gold smuggling but also constitute a commission to conduct a parallel inquiry. With the agreement, the House is finally back in session now.
Such commissions don’t have a stellar history when it comes to investigating high-profile individuals for corruption and crimes but still, given that the UML and the Maoists are at loggerheads, perhaps each side’s biases will cancel each other out and we might actually get an objective investigation. I know, that seems like a little too much to ask but in Nepal, one needs to live in hope.
What’s going on in Koshi?
Uddhav Thapa, chief minister-elect, Image: Wikipedia
Koshi Province continues to remain in turmoil. On Wednesday, the opposition UML and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) disrupted a meeting of the Provincial Assembly and did not allow any business to take place. The opposition is protesting the election of the Nepali Congress’ Uddhav Thapa as Chief Minister, which they say was conducted unfairly and by abusing the system. There’s a long history here so let me try to explain what’s going on as simply as I can.
The Koshi Provincial Assembly has 93 members. Thus, anyone who wishes to be chief minister must secure a simple majority, i.e., 47 votes. Initially, the UML’s parliamentary party leader, Hikmat Kumar Karki (also sometimes called Hikmat Bahadur Karki), laid claim to the chief minister, as his party had the highest number of members — 40 members. His claim was supported by the Maoists, the RPP, and the Janata Samajbadi Party, which have 13, 6, and 1 members, respectively. Karki was thus duly appointed chief minister in January. However, in July, the Janata Samajbadi and Maoists both pulled support for the government after disagreements over the naming of the province. Although the parties had initially agreed on ‘Koshi’ as its name, the Janata Samajbadi and the Maoists later felt differently and pulled out, forcing Karki to seek a vote of confidence. Karki lost the vote with just 46 votes, one vote short of a majority, and resigned.
Things got a lot more complicated then. The Maoist-Congress combine, which includes the Janata Samajbadi and Unified Socialists, had 47 votes while the the UML-RPP alliance had 46. This time, Uddhav Thapa of the Congress staked his claim to the chief minister and in the ensuing vote, Baburam Gautam, the Speaker of the House from the Congress, also participated, tilting the votes in Thapa’s favor. Gautam was not allowed to vote, given that he was the Speaker, but he did anyway. Thapa was appointed chief on July 6.
But the UML and RPP cried foul and petitioned the Supreme Court, which invalidated Thapa’s win due to the vote from the Speaker. Gautam then resigned as Speaker, rejoining the Congress as a regular member of the provincial assembly, giving the Maoist-Congress alliance the edge. Thapa once again claimed the chief minister position, armed with 47 signatures. On August 1, he was again appointed chief minister.
Any new chief minister must seek a vote of confidence within a month and the UML had its own plans to scupper the vote. With the Speaker’s post vacant, the deputy speaker, Shrijana Danuwar, was basically in charge. Danuwar is from the UML and many believed that the party planned to have her resign too. With both Speaker and Deputy Speaker absent, the oldest member of the Provincial Assembly would have to act as chairperson, thereby again denying them the opportunity to vote. The senior-most member was Gayananda Mandal of the Nepali Congress.
But, the Congress and Maoists had their own cards up their sleeves. Chief minister Thapa appointed Mandal a state minister, meaning he was no longer eligible to chair the Assembly even if he might be the oldest member. Everything came to a head on Monday, August 21, when Thapa sought the vote of confidence. Deputy Speaker Danuwar had scheduled the meeting and the floor test but on Monday, she did not show up to chair the meeting, citing ‘medical reasons’ and flew off to Kathmandu. Without anyone to chair the meeting, a four-member presidium called the meeting and held the vote. Israil Mansuri of the Congress chaired the meeting as a member of the presidium but also cast a vote in favor of Thapa, who passed the floor test with 47 votes. But, the UML and RPP immediately protested, stating that anyone who chairs the Assembly meeting cannot vote.
On Thursday, just three days after Thapa passed the floor test, the Supreme Court once again appeared to invalidate his win. Issuing an interim order, the Court asked the Provincial Assembly to refrain from taking any long-term decisions as Thapa was not ‘constitutional’. The final order will likely rule the Thapa government illegitimate and ask the Provincial Assembly to elect yet another Chief Minister. As things stand, no candidate stands a proper chance. Any candidate from the UML-RPP alliance will be undercut by the Congress-Maoists and vice-versa. So the only real option here seems for Koshi Province to go to mid-term elections and elect a new Provincial Assembly. A new Assembly might even be willing to reconsider the name of the province, so it will be in the interest of the indigenous groups currently protesting to engage with the political process and elect people sympathetic to their cause.
Still with me? I know, it’s a very complicated state of affairs, but this is where we are at currently. I hope that explanation has made things slightly clearer. But if not, don’t worry, Nepali politics is unfathomable to most. Let’s move on, shall we?
Eating cow
On Friday, the Sunsari District Administration Office issued a notice declaring a curfew in Dharan Municipality, beginning Friday night and lasting all through Saturday. The curfew explicitly prohibits any kind of cultural, social, or religious rally, specifically targeting a rally that had been planned to protest the eating of beef by some locals a week earlier. In a highly publicized event, which was even live-streamed on the internet, a group of Dharan locals butchered a bull, portioned it off, and ate it. The event itself was reportedly a response to the police’s arrest of a few youths who had earlier been arrested for eating beef. Although the country is nominally secular, the cow is still a ‘national animal’ and its killing is forbidden by law. By killing and eating the bull, the youths were protesting the province’s adoption of the name ‘Koshi’ in lieu of a name that reflected the region’s ethnic Kirat and Limbu identity.
Hindus, naturally, were upset. Many believed that the public event was meant especially to rile them up and desecrate their traditions and culture. This was why a rally had been planned for Saturday to protest the beef eating, with aggrieved Hindus planning to join the rally from all over the country. But, the eating of beef in eastern Nepal is not a new thing or even something that is specifically meant to denigrate Hindu culture. It is part and parcel of the region’s ethnic identity, culture, and traditions. As Gopal Kirati points out in a very illuminating op-ed, sacrificing a bull or cow has long been a part of some Kirati traditions during the Sakela festival. Gopal writes that since the Nepali year 2063, sacrificing a cow or bull on Tuesdays had been a regular affair that only halted when KP Sharma Oli came to power as prime minister.
It is established fact that many indigenous groups were and are beef-eaters. If Nepal is to be a secular country, as stated by the constitution, the state cannot prioritize the feelings of one religious group over another, even if one group is the majority. Democracy is not just about the rights of the majority but also about protecting the rights of the minority. Majoritarian democracy can lead to fascism. You only have to look at what’s happening across the border in India. The killing of a cow and the consumption of its meat might hurt the sentiments of Hindus but a state cannot rule on hurt feelings. Not too long ago, Brahmins did not even eat chicken but no attempts were made to outlaw the eating of chicken by others.
We need to internalize that Nepal has always been a country of difference, that’s our strength. We have different cultures, traditions, and religions that might not always align with each other and might even be opposed to one another but that’s okay. We are proud of being a tolerant people and this is where we show that tolerance. The Hindu Khas-Arya majoritarianism of Prithvi Narayan Shah and Mahendra is long ago. We must accept that we might not agree with what our neighbors do but it is their right to do what they believe is true. That’s all I have to say about this issue.
Selling babies
Dr Tapeshwar Lal Karn being arrested, Image: Kantipur
Speaking of Koshi Province, police on Tuesday arrested Dr Tapeshwar Lal Karn, on charges of selling a newborn baby. Karn, a senior gynecologist and former superintendent of Koshi Hospital, is accused of selling numerous infants born out of wedlock to childless couples. In the most recent instance, an unmarried couple had come to Karn for delivery of their baby. Karn delivered the baby and took Rs 35,000 cash from the father to ‘take care’ of the infant. The couple were discharged from the hospital without the child and Karn even falsified records, including the names and addresses of the mother and father and the weight of the baby. He drew up papers stating that the baby had been referred to another hospital.
The couple left the hospital and the man took the woman to a hotel where he left her there and did not return. The woman was understandably distraught at having lost her baby and filed a complaint with the police. Upon investigation, it came to light that Karn had sold the newborn to a childless couple in exchange for Rs 500,000 and this was not the first time he had done so. Karn would routinely ‘dispose’ of babies born to unmarried couples by selling them to couples who couldn’t have children.
This is quite shocking, to say the least. But it points to prevailing attitudes in Nepali society that are still very conservative. For one, couples are not using any kind of protection during intercourse and thus getting pregnant. Then, once pregnant, they’re not aborting the fetus, even though abortion is very much legal in Nepal. Of course, they might not want to get rid of the baby and that presents another problem. Nepali society is still not quite ready to accept women with children born out of wedlock. Mothers without husbands, not widows, are still looked down upon and judged mercilessly by society at large. This is what leads to situations like these, where couples feel compelled to ‘get rid’ of the baby lest they become pariahs.
India is over the moon
This past week has been home run after home run for neighboring India. On Wednesday, India’s Chandrayaan-3 landed on the south pole of the moon, a feat never achieved before and its rover, named Pragyaan, is now trawling the moon’s surface for data. India is now in the elite club of just three other countries — the USA, Russia, and China — that have made it to the moon. And they did it for a fraction of the cost, just $75 million. These days, Hollywood blockbusters alone have budgets over $100 million. This is something that deserves to be celebrated by all but most of all, India’s neighbors and friends in the developing world. For all its faults and inadequacies, India has shown that it is no slacker when it comes to science and technology.
Then, there was the child prodigy R Praggnanandhaa, an 18-year-old chess grandmaster who acquired his title at the age of 12. On Thursday, the young champion recently faced grandmaster Magnus Carlsen in the FIDE chess World Cup finals but lost, coming in second. The 18-year-old will now go on to compete in the Candidates Tournament which will find a challenger to reigning world champion, Ding Liren. But Praggnanandhaa has already found a global fan following for himself, and his homemaker mother who accompanies him to chess events all over the world. Photos of the two together are heartwarming.
The point behind mentioning these two achievements by India is the emphasis that Indian institutions and Indian families place on education, learning, and pursuing passions. In Nepal, our institutions have been hollowed out and sold and who knows what the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology even does. Government-owned labs and research institutions only operate under the good graces of donor countries and aid agencies. If they hadn’t stepped in, these institutions would pretty much be defunct. This apathy from the state trickles down to the citizens who are much more interested in leaving the country by any means necessary than having to spend another year here. For young people who do want to pursue science, there’s no option but to leave. Nepal has no institutions of higher learning that can provide even remotely the same kind of infrastructure and resources as the Western countries or even India. A young person might be interested in chess but it is more than likely they will be shipped off to the US or Australia to study a subject they aren’t interested in just to get them out of the country and on to better opportunities.
As much as India’s achievements delight me, it depresses me to think that Nepal will possibly never reach such heights as long as our leaders and politicians are more interested in playing games and enriching themselves than thinking at all about what Nepal could do to get even a fourth of the way to where India currently is.
And with that rant, I shall take my leave. Good night and good luck.
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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