After Pakistan and Bhutan, it is now the turn of Nepal (sandwiched between India and China) to savour the sweet flavour of democracy. It is a powerful rebuff to a certain section of the politicians and “experts” in the world who believe that the “war on terror”, etc., can be fought by merely propping up (and bribing) dictators.
Sudeshna Sarkar of IANS reports: “A deep yearning for change, anger at corrupt politicians and the presence of a large number of youngsters and women among the voters began propelling the Communist Party of Nepal, once a terrorist organisation with a bounty on the heads of its leaders, into an astounding victory belying public anticipation.
“On the second day of counting Saturday, the former guerrillas, who had waged a ruthless 10-year war trying to abolish Nepal’s once-omnipotent line of kings, had captured 23 of the 36 seats whose results were declared so far and were leading in 65 of 120 constituencies where counting was in progress.
“Former American president Jimmy Carter, who was monitoring the election as head of a delegation from his Carter Center, put the seal of approval on the former rebels, saying Washington, that had still kept the Maoists on its list of terrorist organisations, should now start to ‘do business’ with them.
” ‘It serves no purpose for the US government to continue to boycott the Maoists after they laid down arms and began to participate (in the peace process) on an equal basis with the other parties,’ the Nobel laureate said.”
The leader to watch out for is Prachanda.
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.