While an opinion poll in Britain shows that 80 per cent of citizens want the monarchy to continue in their country, Nepal’s parliament voted Friday in favor of abolishing the centuries-old monarchy and turning this Himalayan nation into a republic.
The BBC reports: “Some 78% of respondents agreed that Britain should still have a royal family and 19% disagreed. The Gfk NOP survey of 1,000 people aged 16 and over was commissioned by historian Prof Peter Hennessy, guest editor of Radio 4’s Today programme. When asked if there will be a monarchy in 30 years’ time, 80% said yes and 15% said no.
The Reuters reports: “Britons favour Prince William over his father Charles as their next monarch, with widespread approval for William’s girlfriend boosting his ratings, a poll shows.”
While in Nepal more than two-thirds of parliament voted in favor of amending an interim constitution to end the monarchy after an agreement by the main political parties was reached earlier this week, said Speaker Subash Nembwang, reports IHT.
The developments in the two countries indicate that Britain still favours tradition and continuity in the fast changing world, while the small Himalayan country sees no utility in having a monarch at the helm even as a mere symbol to hold Nepal together.
Since 1800, most of the world’s monarchies have been abolished by dismemberment or annexation, or have been transformed into republics; most current countries that are monarchies are constitutional ones. Among the few states that retain a rather absolute monarchy are Bhutan, Brunei, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland and the Vatican City (the papal city-state, an electoral theocracy). In Jordan and Morocco, the monarch also retains considerable power. There are also recent (2003) developments in Liechtenstein, wherein the regnant prince was given the constitutional power to dismiss the government at will. 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.