| Username |
Post |
| FED UP |
Posted
on 14-Aug-01 09:45 PM
.........Maoists seeking a total nation-wide ban on the sale of liquor from Saturday have appointed a five-member negotiating team to negotiate its implementation with the government. Rekha Sharma, Central Chairperson of the All Nepal Women's Association ( ANWA ) Revolutionary will head the negotiating team, the Association said......
One day, these damn Taliban bahoonies are going to say "religion is bad, destroy Pashupati temple as well." Sad thing is, even if this does happen, Nepalese won't have the guts to do anything. The government will then form a commitee and try to negotiate and beg the Maoists to stop the destruction. They probably will fail.
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| EastSideBoy |
Posted
on 15-Aug-01 01:25 AM
It's really a sad thing that the government is letting the Maoists do whatever they want. What does a f*****g Bahuni know anything about the importance of alcohol in the culture of other Nepalese communities?
If things go on like this, then one of these days the Maoists will call for the closure of all cinema halls, concerts, pro-democracy newspapers, etc.
We say NO to the total ban of alcohol. There should be place and time restrictions and age limits, but banning it totally is going too far. Are you living in a part of the backward-looking Afghanistan?
The government of Sher Bahadur Deuba should stand firm and say NO to safeguard the right of the people's freedom, including the freedom to make and consume alcohol.
This proves that the Maoist movement is completely under the control of a few Bahuns like Baburam and Prachanda, who have complete disregards for other communities and their culture.
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| Racist |
Posted
on 15-Aug-01 10:45 AM
Freaking Bahuns !!!
They go to all those Bhatti's for Waaasha !!! I'm sure that bahuni is also taking waaasha on the side. They are nothing but hypocrites.
WHen the hell are these stupid people going to realize that Communism does not work(look at China home of mao). I say the army should go kill them all before they start destroying our culture. It's really frustrating to hear all these stories and have no reaction from out govt. Why do we always end up having leaders with no geda ?
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| Biswo |
Posted
on 15-Aug-01 03:48 PM
Prohibition legislations,throughout the history, have stood as an epitome of
hypocrisy. Even scriptures of Hinduism, which generally regards
Madhya(alcohol) as vile, are rife with the incidents of alcohol consumptions. Manu once labelled in his Manusmiriti the alcoholism as one of the
"Pancha mahaapaap" equating it to the likes of adultery and homicide.Yet no
ruler followed that path, and alcoholism entered into the culture of different
sections of people as an indispensable item.
US tried it in 1920. Only to give birth of uncontrollable and formiddable gangs
and gang leaders like Al Capone who would fight ferociously for the control of
illicit liquors. (In a Sean Connery, Kelvin Costener, Robert Deniro starrer
untouchables, the liquor is shown to be sold inside a mortuary). In India,
legislation instituted the prohibition in its constitution, only to discard it
later. Gujrat is the only state (being the home state of Gandhi) to practice it
now. The practice is also being done at heavy price, there are organized crime
syndicates which battle for controlling alcohol sale in the cities. Also places
like Goa and Pandicheri which are near to Gujrat and Tamilnadu respectively
(another tough state in India for alcohol) profit heavily from their
unrestricted policy by attracting people from these nearby states.
So, it is more likely that people will start paying Rs 300.00 per bottle for
a beer, or going to Khasa or Gorakhpur rather than giving up the alcohol
at all.The result will be this: the money belonging to popular government will
go to the coffer of some thugs.Gujarat ,btw, is considering to revoke the
prohibition policy, and abolishing what India Today once said "nanny state"
which pretend to be edifying the society by force.
-------------------------------
I am a teetotaler, and I believe that people shouldn't consume alcohol. Alcohol
is a root of a lot of problems, specially in rural Nepal.
It is good if we restrict alcohol consumption, rather than alcohol production.
I also reject the notion that "other castes" in Nepal can consume alcohol
by virtue of integration of alcohol in their culture. If alcohol harms me, it
will harm others also. My understanding is alcohol doesn't know who is bahun, or
who is chhetri.
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| EastSideBoy |
Posted
on 15-Aug-01 06:45 PM
You completely missed the point, biswo. It's not about whether alcohol is harmful to anyone or not. Every one knows the answer to that. It's about ethnic politics. It's about imposing the will of the freaking Bahuns in every aspect of our lives. We reject that.
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| GP |
Posted
on 15-Aug-01 08:26 PM
In a multi raced, multi cultured country, Nepal, to ban Alcohol is something
like banning many cultural events. I do not know much about different
cultures in Nepal, but, I have heard that some ethnics use alcohols
as an element to purify peoples. We can not reject this as a "not useful
concept", but, we have to accept this as part of their culture. In Japan,
one example, when someone dies, they serve alcohol to expect the dead soul
will rest on peace. Rekha Sharma, a being a woman, from Bahun class,
probably does not know the extent of Alcohol in various cultures in Nepal.
I think if she really want, better she force it on her own class , bahuns only,
even in that case, I will not accept her ban on me,
not extend it to others. Well, Amratya Sen, the Nobel Prize winners once
said in an interview with NEWSWEEK./TIME, that Hindu's biggest drawback
and reason for lagging with other religion is to consider liquor or alcohol.
In fact, the ban is not what we expect, we expect more monitoring of
the sell of alcohol, like age limit and education on alcohol. As alcohol is
also considered good for health if consumed in controlled manner. For
peoples with high cholestrol, doctors suggest red wines, and for peoples
who have trace of kidney or urine bladder stones doctors suggest
beers . . . and so on. Well, when you are tired from your heavy day work
if you take a can beer or a peg liquor , and next day you will surely
feel more fresh and your muscles are much better. I think thats why
those who consume alcohol are more hard working than those who
hate alcohol. Those who don't take alcohol at all tend to cheat work
and work less and avoid manual works. Even for think tanks the regular
and limited alcohol consumption is essential. Only those who have the
experience of benefit and enjoyment of controlled alcohol consumption
know why alcohol is a good friend of human.
So, alcohol ban is a ban or death penalty to some cultures,
ban of working class peoples refreshments
to their muscles, a time to rest to braing of the think tanks .....
Well, alcohol should be monitored to minorities like underaged peoples,
mental and physical (certain) disabled peoples, .. . . . What I was
surprised when I was in Chicago last January was the waiter at a
restaurants asked me to show him my age verifiable ID card, then,
I told him "do you think by looking at my face that I am below 20(1?)years
old, and you can skip me the checks", to my surprise that waiter replied
to me "No Sir, I can guess you are not below the age limit, but, to avoid
discriminatory checks, we are forced to verify age on all kinds of peoples
whether they look like kids to gray haird and wrinkled old peoples .. . . .".
I was satisfied with his explanations, and in fact this was what I never
experienced in my past days in Asia. I n Japan, you can buy alcohol and
cigerattes in vending machine, and all aged peoples can buy alcohols,
and this was what asked to ban buy World Health organization, and Japanese
Govt. and peoples oppose even this move.
So total ban is pure chauvanism by these leaders who were grown up in
a tradition where no one respect alcohol, neither they have any experience
of what are the positive sides of alcohols. They look only negative parts and
make propaganda of negative sides of alcohols. Limited (controlled)
consumption is a part of human rights, and similarly those who need it for
their ritual purpose, such ban is totalatarian action, nothing more than that.
I do love it, I don't drink it in working hours "8:30am to 5pm" in working days,
and once its 5pm, my former boss some time back said, its 5pm lets start
drinking ... I want that kind of restriction only "8:30am to 5pm or while in paid duty or in risk of others/public lives and utilities".
I want to die peacefully after some hard drinks. That will be I guess most painless
death.
Jai Aolcohol. I look for education on alcohol, not on on back doors alcoholism .
I want state to impose laws and punish me if I commit some crime whether
drunk or in undrunk stage to fit my crime, and some surcharged punishment
on activities that are not allowed e.g. drunken driving.
Sorry for being long.
GP
P.S> Once I
met a section officer who came to Japan for Disaster Prevention Training
said that the complete ban on drunken driving (riding motorbike) should be
spared to government employees because taxi fare is so expensive, and
govt. officers have to attend a lot of parties where drinks is essential, and
such ban are troublesome to them . . . We have such officers too, who
are supposed to Prevent Disaster after getting traning on DPT. Will they
change?
GP
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| FED UP |
Posted
on 15-Aug-01 09:08 PM
Eastsideboy - The government of Sher Bahadur Deuba should stand firm and say NO to safeguard the right of the people's...??????
What makes you think Deuba or the so called government is in power? NOT ANYMORE. DEUBA IS JUST A TOKEN PM - JUST LIKE TRIBHUWAN WAS A TOKEN KING DURING THE RANAS. Let's admit it, it is the Maoists who rule Nepal right now. This is what I tell all my American friends. I refuse to admit that Nepal has an elected government anymore. I refuse to believe that Nepal is a democratic state anymore.
How else do you explain the fact that the Maoists have complete control over the country? They can shut down all schools for a whole week, even the whole country for several days. They can impose a nationwide ban on alcohol. They are going to shut down discos, bars, cabin restaurants, and anything else they feel is immoral. They can forcefully make government officials resign and replace them with Maoist officials. Hell, they even chased the army out of Holleri.
And here you are, thinking that Deuba and Co. are in charge !!
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| GP |
Posted
on 15-Aug-01 10:36 PM
FED UP,
You are right that Deuba is really a token PM. Maoists can now occupy
the chair too, but, they also know it will not last long, thats why want
crumble or prove all non-Maoists or non-communists are just garbage
and peoples are given slow poisoning to make Maoists accepted
from public so that upon occupying the PM's chair no one will dare to
oppose Comrade Prachanda 's occupation. Deuba is always
defending the TALK . . . and PEACETALK, they all know its bull-sit
TALK propaganda. They should immediately hire 100,000 as
APF and send to different districts to bring back the law and
order, otherwise it will be too late to dream the Freedom that
peoples have to today.
As BabuRam Bahttarai recently told that (TKP cited ... PRT)
"The call for Ban is literally mean to get confidence of "CONTROL"
level". Similarly, BRB once told to Nepal-Times that "you will have
more freedoms than you have today", if you extend their notion
of "ban means to control", similarly to mean "more freedom than
today" is anothe propaganda to make peoples fools. They do not
stick on what they say, they say words what can they sell on
market, and they are not trustable on their words too.
PEACETALK and CEASEFIRE are two dramas just to get enough
time for reinforcing the Maoists war utilities. It will be too late, if
Deuba continues to fullfil what Maoists want as prerequisite to
peace talks. Meanwhile, all communists are hoping to get advantage
of Maoists, thats not going to happen. No paralimentary will honestly
want Maoists to have better hold on communist supporters. They
just want this talk to fail, so that Maoists and Nepali Congress both
will fail and finally, the advantage will go to these Muchroomed communist
parties.
GP
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| Suva Chintak |
Posted
on 15-Aug-01 11:37 PM
Tell if there is any economist who will say that Alcohol Ban is good for the economy of any country. Production and consumption of alcohol has always served the economy of Nepal which is already too small. The total ban of it is going to shrink the nepalese economy. Which is NOT good. Nepal has the potential to export exotic alcohols and enhance its economy. Alcohol like, Tomba, Chyang would successfully enlarge its market in any country if only their qualities get improved for the international trade.
A leader who is a rational thinker would never ban the alcohol but have some restrictions under certain conditions like.place, people, and quality of the alcohol itself. It is not practical to ban it.
Just because alcohol serves no purpose in some communities like, Bahun, Chhetri, doesn't mean that it doesn't hold any position in so many other communities. Newars start any of their feats and festivals with alcohol. And what about the people living in mountains? They consume alcohol to keep themselves warm. So any move that is centered to just a person or a group for their own interest is NOT good at all.
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It has been almost six years the maoists have been spreading violence killing almost two thousand nepalese. Violence is not a solution for anything. NOT AT ALL. And the nepalese government has failed again and again to do anything about it. I don't know which prime minister should be blamed for it, but if only they had done somehting like negotation or the implementation of army in maoist effected areas during the early uprising, things would have been different. Now that Maoists have become so strong, stronget than the army, there is no way that they are going to negotiate. They have their demands, and they will get them fulfilled anyhow.
So all I have to say is....... God save Nepal.
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| upperwestside |
Posted
on 16-Aug-01 12:42 AM
Hey Eastsideboy,
Even you are missing the point. Why are you just being so simplistic? Maoist movement is definitely much more than one Rekha Sharma deciding over the alchohol ban. I believe any party that claims to have widespread grassroot support has a much more democratic way of deciding its agenda.
That said, I have come across a number of racially paranoid posters on GBNC. Don't mistake me. I am no fan of Bahuns myself(and no supporter of alchohol ban!), but it's disturbing to see some well-meaning people on this site attacked, and ridiculed, just because they are Bahuns.
That's an unwanted distraction. Why not create separate threads instead for discussing various issues related to ethnicity? Sure, they are very serious issues. And if GBNC history is any indication, such threads tend to provoke candid thoughts from many thinking minds.
All this for better exchange of ideas...That's all.
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| Manchhe |
Posted
on 16-Aug-01 05:29 PM
Guys and gals! Let us not be racists to that extent. Why do Nepalis have to pinpoint people by their last names? Unless we stop saying bahuns and jyapus and bhotes we won't stop anything. I believe we all are educated and at least know how to read and write. Then why do we raise issues of jaat bhaat?
it's amazing why lots of us immediately come to a conclusion about castes. Can't we stop talking about what castes so and so is? Even when we meet we ask last names. Do we have to do that? Remember when you call others names, someone else is doing the same to you too. Or is this simply to put in some masala to the discussion forum? We should recognize each other as Nepali and not as any other type. We could be madhesis or pahadis or sherpas, but are people of Nepal after all. A surname makes no difference.
Times are changing but even after living abroad many still have the tendency to ask what caste so and so is. I guess that's deep rooted in our mind and culture. But that will take us nowhere. A bahun can have an excellent pal in a newar or vice versa. A sherpa can be cordial to a madhesi. But once we start forming groups of our own types, we're all screwed up.
So fellow Nepali friends let's not humiliate surnames. Whatever we are we are ok. We are humans and have to live like one and not be racist within our own culture and country. We talk about Indians hating Nepalis and whites hating blacks, but look at us. We have hatred right in our own small country and community. Where are we??? We should look at ourselves first and then talk about others.
I am also sure this view of mine will not achieve anything. We'll read and forget and go back to what we are doing. But I do hope we have other people who share the same thoughts as I do. Surnames and family names and do not belong to anyone else. Not all newars and families and not all bahuns are buddies.
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| Ena |
Posted
on 16-Aug-01 07:20 PM
Thank you for your input, Your "upbeat words" does make lot of sense, and I agree whole-heartedly with you. I think the bickering part about caste labelling is getting a little too old. Once again, thank you for bringing that to light.
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