At a time when Britain celebrates the reign of its longest serving monarch Queen Elizabeth II, Nepal has decided to bid adieu to its centuries old royal institution. “Nepal’s government has agreed to abolish the monarchy as part of a deal to persuade Maoist former rebels to rejoin the interim administration,” reports the BBC.
“Under the deal, Nepal will be declared a republic after a general election has been held next year and a new constituent assembly established. The Maoists pulled out of the government in September, demanding an immediate end to the monarchy. The latest deal was signed by Nepal’s main parties, including the Maoists.”
The New York Times reports: “The popularity of King Gyanendra plunged when he ousted the government and assumed absolute powers in 2005, only to yield control after weeks of protest last year. The monarch has traditionally been viewed in Nepal as an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu.”
King Gyanendra of Nepal assumed the throne in dramatic circumstances in 2001 after his brother, King Birendra, was killed in a palace massacre. Read Gyanendra’s profile here…
Nepal acts as a buffer between China and India. “Nepal, officially known, according to its Interim Constitution, as the State of Nepal (previously known as Kingdom of Nepal) is a landlocked nation in South Asia, bordering the People’s Republic of China (Tibet) to the north and India to the south, east and west. Nepal previously had been the world’s only officially Hindu state (India, while having a Hindu majority is secular), with over eighty percent of the people following this faith. However, since 18 May 2006, Nepal has become a secular state.” More here…
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.