Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda)
Nepal has emerged as a latest showpiece of democracy in the world by removing the powerful King without bloodshed, holding elections and then persuading the ultra-leftists to participate in the democratic process.
Did I hear someone say: “Thank God that the West kept out of Nepal!!!”
“Eleven years after they had started a civil war, Nepal’s Maoist guerrillas finally captured the power they had been seeking, reaching an understanding with the ruling coalition to join the government with five key ministries.
“It was a heady moment for farmer’s son Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who quit his job as a teacher in the 1990s to lead the guerrilla movement and became transformed into Prachanda, a revolutionary who learnt how to use the gun and grenades. He lived underground for over a decade with an international alert for his capture.
“After signing a peace pact with the seven-party government last year, Prachanda’s band of guerrillas became recognised as a political party this year when it re-entered parliament after a decade with 83 MPs. It became the third largest party in the house…”
To read this fascinating story please click here…
Another report says that the formation of the government has been delayed owing to some differences among political parties.
Here is Prachanda’s profile…
For a backgrounder on Nepal’s Maoists please click 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.