WE GOT MAIL | Letters | wavemag.com.np

I thought WAVE was just a 'cute' magazine for teenagers and had never read it but the cover story on the Maoist problem changed my view. Kashish Das Shrestha's article Heartland: A Journal from Rolpa (Cover story, issue 80) was an eye opener. Written in a straightforward manner with hardly any accusations directed either at the Maoists or the Government, it was a good read.

I think it is high time that someone wrote about the Maoist problem and its effects on the local people for young people in Kathmandu. All the other articles about this have appeared in 'grown up' magazines and newspapers that teenagers hardly ever read. I think this article will give all readers food for thought.

Kudos to the the writer for the splendid article and for venturing where even seasoned writers fear to tread.

Shobhana Pradhan,
Kathmandu

CORRUPT GOVERNMENT

I am impressed with Kashish's daily notes about Rolpa. That was really touching. I would like to say however, that the root cause of this kind of problem is not only the Maoists. A corrupt, irresponsible government which runs a system without any dignity or humanity is also to blame. I felt this acutely while working in Dolpa.

Babu Kaji

A NEW MAGAZINE

I read WAVE after a long time and found a completely new magazine. I was a regular reader between 1995 and 97 but lost interest after that. The article about Rolpa in your last issue was mind blowing in its realism. The story based on an incident at Snowman (What Mattered Was The Inside - My Story, issue 80) was something I experienced too. On the whole, WAVE has become a real cool magazine.

Muna

WAVE FOR GENERATIONS

It is indeed a pleasure to see that your magazine is doing well. I have been an ardent reader of your magazine but due to my age I sometimes look for greener pastures to sustain my intellectual/ entertainment needs. The irony is that I always seem to pick your magazine from the stalls with no regret and it feels great. Hope the magazine stays fresh and young always, so that in the future my two young sons will also enjoy reading the magazine that I read when I was a youth and when I was getting old.

Ivan Sada

NEPALI BY RELIGION

I'm a Nepali citizen and I'm proud of it. It upsets me when the press refers to all Nepalis as "we Hindus". Are there no Nepalis besides Hindus in our country? Our constitution states that we are a multi-caste nation. So, how can someone even hint that there are only Hindus here? They don't consider the feelings of non-Hindus who read those newspapers and magazines.

A survey done years ago revealed 80% of Nepalis are Hindu. The numbers may have eroded but journalists still trot out the old figures. Proclaiming Nepal as a Hindu country is not fair because it ignores other religions. I don't want to blame the journalists for writing what they do. This is just a reminder that other minorities also live in Nepal. Perhaps we should learn not to think that "Nepali" automatically means "Hindu".

- Ashish Lohorung Rai,
Damak-1, Jhapa

OF JAATS AND VARNAS

I was really touched by the article on Badi people in the July issue of WAVE (This Gypsy Heart - Cover Story, issue 79). I am an undergraduate student conducting research on Nepal. I used to assume, due to my ignorance, that everything was fair and peaceful among the diverse communities of the nation. During the course of my research, my eyes were opened to the plight of the minority ethnic and religious groups. I find fault in the education we receive which blindly glorifies the deeds of PN Shah in unifying Nepal without presenting an alternative view. He did unify Nepal, but not the diversity of the Nepali people. Just reciting that Nepal is a garden of "chaar jaat chhatis varnas" will not unify this diverse nation. Making such a statement illustrates that PN Shah took into account only the Hindu system that gave rise to caste divisions. The rulers who followed, like Jung Bahadur Rana, thought of homegenizing Nepali people to make a uniform and hence a unified Nepal. Minority ethnic groups were forced to give up their traditions and accept the Hindu caste system, something they were not compatible with. If Brahmins and upper caste Hindus think some people are untouchable and probably not even human, wouldn't the same apply to them from the perspective of minorities? Though these great leaders of the past were builders of Nepal, from an alternative viewpoint they can be compared to Adolf Hitler for their (perhaps, unconsciously) wish to make a Nepali race. The Badis are one of the sad consequences our self-proclaimed glorious past.

- Sajal Sthapit
College of Wooster, OH 44691, USA

WESTWARD

I present a radio show on contemporary numbers, so I am interested in Westward. Kashish was kind enough to inform us (Westward, issue 80) that Words and Father and Son by Ronan Keating were covers of classic hits. I would like to point out that If tomorrow never comes, his latest single is actually a country song by Garth Brooks from 1995. When you say nothing at all is another country cover, the original number was performed by Allison Krauss. On a personal note, I feel uneasy listening to singers like Keating who don't credit the original artists. Reviews of classic albums would be most welcome.

- Arpan Shrestha