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Bloody Finale
In life, Phoolan Devi combined the brutal
underbelly of India with political fame and glamour. Gunned down in Delhi,
her death could become the occasion for a new round of caste conflict
in Uttar Pradesh. Phoolan
is being reinvented posthumously.
A report.
Rule
Of Outlaw
Dons and politicians enjoy a symbiotic relationship
in Uttar Pradesh.
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THE
NATION
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Back To The Trenches
Determined not to let up on its Kashmir-centric
agenda, Pakistan has stepped up violence in the Valley. Indian security
forces gear up to deal with the situation.
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Revenge
Of Badla People who lent money to
stockbrokers for financing speculators through the badla system find themselves
at the receiving end of yet another scam. And with little evidence to
nail the accused, chances of recovery are dim.
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NEIGHBOURS
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The Peacenik
S.B. Deuba's rapport with the Maoists helped
him become prime minister. Now he has to deal with their radical demands
about the monarchy and secularism.
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OTHER STORIES
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NEIGHBOURS: NEPAL
Enter The Peacenik
Deuba's known rapport with the Maoist insurgents helped
him win the prime ministerial sweepstakes
By Farzand Ahmed in Kathmandu
Sher Bahadur Deuba,
the newly elected prime minister of Nepal, postponed his swearing-in last
week till Thursday, an "auspicious day" according to his planets.
Though the 55-year-old leader of the dissident group in the Nepali Congress
is as firm a believer in ritualistic orthodoxy as any of his peers, his
appointment was indeed auspicious in a particularly bloody phase of the
country's history. Two months ago, King Birendra, the reigning monarch,
the queen, and all members of the royal family belonging to their line had
perished in a senseless carnage, perpetrated by none other than the crown
prince. Even before Birendra's brother and successor, King Gyanendra, could
feel his grip on the sceptre, trouble had begun on all fronts. The Government
seemed rudderless as the Maoist insurgents went on a killing and abduction
spree in the countryside. It teetered in Parliament too, with the Opposition
and a sizeable section of the ruling party threatening to vote prime minister
G.P. Koirala out of power.
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LAST LAUGH: Deuba
with Koirala (right) and Bhattarai (left); (below) Prachanda
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Deuba finally took control of the Government
by obtaining 72 of the 113 votes in the Nepali Congress Parliamentary
party election. Sushil Koirala, the outgoing prime minister's nephew,
got only 40. And, true to Deuba's reputation of trying to win over the
insurgents-"the Maoist problem needs a human approach," he has
maintained-he declared a cease-fire within 24 hours of his election. The
peace initiative was quickly reciprocated by Prachanda, chairman of the
underground Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists), who asked his guerrilla
fighters to silence their guns. Interestingly, the cease-fire came hours
after the rebels massacred 17 policemen on July 22 at a police post in
Bajura district in the far west of Nepal, the region from where Deuba
hails.
For Deuba, who had tasted prime ministership
once before in 1995-97, the task of bringing the Maoists back to the mainstream
of political life is hardly new. As chairman of the government-appointed
Maoist Problem Resolution Committee, he had held several rounds of discreet
talks with the underground leaders. The experience familiarised him with
their psyche and tactical moves. And it obviously made him a "friend"
of the insurgents, to the extent that they declared they would sit at
the negotiating table provided Koirala vacated the prime ministerial chair.
Analysts in Kathmandu insist that there is a link between the Maoists'
soft corner for Deuba and the outburst of anger at Koirala in Parliament,
the underground setting the stage in this case for overground politics.
The prime minister's famous rapport with Prachanda
was put to the test with the Bajura massacre coming on the day of Deuba's
election. The guerrillas reportedly agreed to pull back after Deuba activated
his hotline and offered to withdraw forces. It could well have been a
prelude to talks, but underground sources say that the prime minister
had not stopped at withdrawing forces. They insist that he'd also agreed
to release all Maoist activists in jail unconditionally, and to hold an
all-party meeting that would set the agenda for peace negotiations. Padam
Ratan Tuladhar, chairman of the Forum for Protection of Human Rights,"
says that the Maoists "trust" Deuba for his "liberal views".
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Starved of resources and bogged down
by mismanagement, pilferage and irregularities, Punjab's civil aviation
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