18 June 2001
The Times of India
Scholars chafe at official curbs
By Siddharth Varadarajan
The Times of India News Service
NEW DELHI: Indian academics may be upset at the home ministry's renewed
desire to vet foreign scholars attending conferences in the country but
they are also angry about the more stringent enforcement of an older rule
requiring official clearance before they can travel abroad for conferences
and seminars.
It's a little-known fact but as government employees, academics working at
any university or centrally-sponsored institute are required to apply in
writing on a prescribed form to both the human resource development
ministry and the ministry of external affairs for ``political clearance''
whenever they wish to accept an invitation to attend a foreign conference.
Last year, an internationally renowned professor of performing arts at a
leading national centre was told that even though he had been attending
workshops abroad for years without any problem, he would henceforth have
to apply to the government for permission. His centre cited an HRD
ministry order making it mandatory for official clearance to be sought,
especially when a conference invitation came from an NGO, foreign
government department or even the UN.
In his case, permission to attend a conference on performing arts in a
south-east Asian country was eventually given but the professor was told
by the MEA that he should provide a report on what transpired at the
conference to the local Indian embassy. Though the professor showed copies
of his correspondence to The Times of India, he was unwilling to be named
for fear of disciplinary action.
According to academics familiar with the HRD ministry order, the decision
to make university-based scholars conform to a rule that normally is
binding only on direct government employees dates back to the time when
Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister. Though many universities and institutes
had stopped enforcing the rule, HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi seems to
have decided to revive it, perhaps as a means of more closely monitoring -
or even regulating - the kinds of academic linkages Indian scholars
develop with colleagues overseas.
That the requirement to seek prior political clearance is a hindrance for
Indian scholars is illustrated by the fate of Prof Kanti Bajpai, who
teaches international relations at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New
Delhi. Last summer, he approached the ministry for clearance for a
conference he was to attend in October. ``But the permission was finally
granted to me only in December'', Bajpai told The Times of India. Those
scholars who travel without the requisite political clearance run the risk
of being penalised by their universities, he said.
In another case two years ago, a professor whose participation as an
invitee in an Indo-Russian seminar had been approved by the government was
taken off the list after her husband made a statement criticising the BJP
on an unrelated issue.
In virtually no democratic country are scholars required to seek
government permission for attending conferences abroad. If at all, it is
the concerned department of the university which approves attendance.
-----
18 June 2001
07 June 2001
It was Deependra, say survivors
7 June 2001
The Times of India
IT WAS DEEPENDRA, SAY SURVIVORS
By SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN
Times of India News Service
KATHMANDU: Anxious to end speculation over what happened at the royal palace last Friday, a close relative of two of the royals killed told The Times of India that the survivors and eyewitnesses he had spoken to immediately after the massacre had all identified the late Crown Prince Deependra as the killer.
Neer Shah - whose brother Kumar Khadga Bikram Shah and sister-in-law Princess Sharda perished in a hail of bullets along with seven other members of the royal family - pieced together the sequence of events as recounted to him by several survivors. (Sharda was the sister of the late King Birendra.)
The family was in the snooker room in Deependra's apartments at the palace, he said, when the Crown Prince burst in brandishing an M-16 rifle. He was wearing military fatigues and seemed drunk. Without warning, he opened fire on King Birendra and then his mother. Neer Shah said Deependra's brother, Nirajan, tried to save his mother and took nearly 20 bullets. Deependra continued firing until he ran out of bullets. He then took a revolver, left the room and shot himself, apparently in the garden - where his body was found.
Asked what he had learned about the role of King Gyanendra's son, Paras, whom many here believe was involved in the shootings, Shah said he had saved the two daughters of the King's younger brother, Dhirendra, by pushing them under a table and then leaving the room.
Though Neer Shah's account does not differ significantly from what this newspaper has already reported, this is the first time that anyone who has directly spoken to the survivors has confirmed - on the record - that Deependra was indeed the author of the palace tragedy. So far, all attempts by the press to meet Queen Komal, Princess Shobha, Ketaki Chester and Gorakh Sumshere Rana - four members of the family still in hospital - have been unsuccessful.
In fact, Neer Shah, lost more than his brother and sister-in-law that night. His elderly mother had a heart attack the next afternoon when she heard what had happened.
Shah is livid that the Raj Parishad, or privy council, named Deependra king despite knowing he was the killer. Prime Minister Koirala and Raj Parishad chairperson Kesar Rai Majhi were in the hospital and they spoke to the same people as I did,'' Shah said. They knew Deependra had done it. But instead of stripping him of his title, they made him king. How can a murderer be made king?'' he questioned.
Majhi, however, told this correspondent that the Raj Parishad had no option but to name Deependra as king as he was the next in line for the throne. Just because someone is suspected of a crime doesn't mean he can be denied his legitimate right,'' he said.
Calling Majhi and Koirala pseudo-royalists, Shah said the government's failure to go public right away was the main reason for the popular disquiet so visible on the streets. In the absence of information, rumours were bound to take hold, he said, criticising Gyanendra's earlier statement that the killings had occurred because of an accident.
''I don't care whether people today want to believe it or not. But we all know that it is Deependra who did this lunatic thing. Just as the Nepalese who thought Birendra was the worst king only 11 years ago, revere him today, all those swearing by Deependra will one day come to accept what a horrible crime he committed,'' he added.
The Times of India
IT WAS DEEPENDRA, SAY SURVIVORS
By SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN
Times of India News Service
KATHMANDU: Anxious to end speculation over what happened at the royal palace last Friday, a close relative of two of the royals killed told The Times of India that the survivors and eyewitnesses he had spoken to immediately after the massacre had all identified the late Crown Prince Deependra as the killer.
Neer Shah - whose brother Kumar Khadga Bikram Shah and sister-in-law Princess Sharda perished in a hail of bullets along with seven other members of the royal family - pieced together the sequence of events as recounted to him by several survivors. (Sharda was the sister of the late King Birendra.)
The family was in the snooker room in Deependra's apartments at the palace, he said, when the Crown Prince burst in brandishing an M-16 rifle. He was wearing military fatigues and seemed drunk. Without warning, he opened fire on King Birendra and then his mother. Neer Shah said Deependra's brother, Nirajan, tried to save his mother and took nearly 20 bullets. Deependra continued firing until he ran out of bullets. He then took a revolver, left the room and shot himself, apparently in the garden - where his body was found.
Asked what he had learned about the role of King Gyanendra's son, Paras, whom many here believe was involved in the shootings, Shah said he had saved the two daughters of the King's younger brother, Dhirendra, by pushing them under a table and then leaving the room.
Though Neer Shah's account does not differ significantly from what this newspaper has already reported, this is the first time that anyone who has directly spoken to the survivors has confirmed - on the record - that Deependra was indeed the author of the palace tragedy. So far, all attempts by the press to meet Queen Komal, Princess Shobha, Ketaki Chester and Gorakh Sumshere Rana - four members of the family still in hospital - have been unsuccessful.
In fact, Neer Shah, lost more than his brother and sister-in-law that night. His elderly mother had a heart attack the next afternoon when she heard what had happened.
Shah is livid that the Raj Parishad, or privy council, named Deependra king despite knowing he was the killer. Prime Minister Koirala and Raj Parishad chairperson Kesar Rai Majhi were in the hospital and they spoke to the same people as I did,'' Shah said. They knew Deependra had done it. But instead of stripping him of his title, they made him king. How can a murderer be made king?'' he questioned.
Majhi, however, told this correspondent that the Raj Parishad had no option but to name Deependra as king as he was the next in line for the throne. Just because someone is suspected of a crime doesn't mean he can be denied his legitimate right,'' he said.
Calling Majhi and Koirala pseudo-royalists, Shah said the government's failure to go public right away was the main reason for the popular disquiet so visible on the streets. In the absence of information, rumours were bound to take hold, he said, criticising Gyanendra's earlier statement that the killings had occurred because of an accident.
''I don't care whether people today want to believe it or not. But we all know that it is Deependra who did this lunatic thing. Just as the Nepalese who thought Birendra was the worst king only 11 years ago, revere him today, all those swearing by Deependra will one day come to accept what a horrible crime he committed,'' he added.
05 June 2001
King Gyanendra sets up panel to probe killings
5 June 2001
The Times of India
KING GYANENDRA SETS UP PANEL TO PROBE KILLINGS
By SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN
Times of India News Service
KATHMANDU: Curfew was imposed here Monday afternoon following pitched battles between policemen and protesters, upset over the coronation of Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah as king and angry at the government's failure to explain how the late king, Birendra, was killed.
On his part, King Gyanendra moved swiftly to end speculation about the palace massacre, promising the nation on television Monday night a full investigation into the tragic incident.
In a move that is being seen here as a stroke of genius, he said a commissionconsisting of Supreme Court chief justice Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya, Communist opposition leader Madhav Kumar Nepal and the speaker of parliament, would investigate the incident and provide a report within three days.
Gyanendra was crowned king hours after the death early Monday morning of Nepal's comatose king, Deependra. Though Gyanendra was driven through Kathmandu in an impressive ceremonial procession, the pomp and pageantry failed to impress those who were on the streets. Hardly anybody clapped or cheered, and the police formed roadblocks to keep people from getting close. There could hardly have been a more inauspicious start to the new king's reign.
Barely minutes after Gyanendra entered the palace, youths in small and large groups began shouting slogans against him. On Sunday, people had chanted "Hang the murderer" without specifying who they meant; on Monday, that coyness had vanished: "Hatyara Gyanendra chahide na" (We don't want the murderer Gyanendra), the protesters shouted. By 1:30 pm, their mood had turned ugly. On Durbar Marg, barely 500 metres from the palace, youths numbering several hundred threw stones at the police, who retaliated with tear gas. Clashes took place throughout the city, leading to the imposition of curfew at 4:00 pm. The curfew - which will remain till 5 am Tuesday - emptied the city centre completely but sporadic shots could be heard till eight in the evening.
The demonstrators are almost all between the ages of 15 and 25, and though some are lumpen, many are relatively affluent. They insist Deependra could not have killed his parents and that Gyanendra conspired with his son, Paras, to clear the way for himself. "Gyanendra is the king of bullets", shouted one emotional young man. "No one will ever accept him."
The enfant terrible of the royal family, Paras - who is now next in line for the throne - is highly unpopular. He is said to have killed people with his rash driving and bouts of random shooting. Nepalese, therefore, are prepared to believe the worst about him, especially since he was not injured in the palace shoot-out. While this correspondent encountered no one who blamed India for Birendra's death, there are reports that posters have been printed attacking Gyanendra, Paras - and India - for Friday's carnage.
The decision to crown Gyanendra king was taken by the privy council, which met soon after Deependra's death. Anticipating large-scale violence, the authorities postponed his cremation, initially scheduled for 3 pm. The fact that Deependra was cremated while curfew was in place - without giving people a chance to pay their last respects - is bound to be held against Gyanendra and Prime Minister G P Koirala.
Though the investigation promised by the king is likely to be a credible one given the composition of its members, it is difficult to see how any inquiry which suggests Deependra opened fire will be acceptable to people. Several survivors of the palace massacre are believed to have confirmed Deependra shot them but this is a terrible truth many Nepalese will probably not be able to come to terms with for a long time.
"Today is the most crucial day in Gyanendra's reign", an observer here told The Times of India shortly after his coronation. "If the day passes uneventfully, he will pull through. Otherwise, there will be a question mark." The imposition of curfew Monday was not a good omen, but Gyanendra's statesmanlike TV address might just help to swing the pendulum in his favour.
The Times of India
KING GYANENDRA SETS UP PANEL TO PROBE KILLINGS
By SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN
Times of India News Service
KATHMANDU: Curfew was imposed here Monday afternoon following pitched battles between policemen and protesters, upset over the coronation of Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah as king and angry at the government's failure to explain how the late king, Birendra, was killed.
On his part, King Gyanendra moved swiftly to end speculation about the palace massacre, promising the nation on television Monday night a full investigation into the tragic incident.
In a move that is being seen here as a stroke of genius, he said a commissionconsisting of Supreme Court chief justice Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya, Communist opposition leader Madhav Kumar Nepal and the speaker of parliament, would investigate the incident and provide a report within three days.
Gyanendra was crowned king hours after the death early Monday morning of Nepal's comatose king, Deependra. Though Gyanendra was driven through Kathmandu in an impressive ceremonial procession, the pomp and pageantry failed to impress those who were on the streets. Hardly anybody clapped or cheered, and the police formed roadblocks to keep people from getting close. There could hardly have been a more inauspicious start to the new king's reign.
Barely minutes after Gyanendra entered the palace, youths in small and large groups began shouting slogans against him. On Sunday, people had chanted "Hang the murderer" without specifying who they meant; on Monday, that coyness had vanished: "Hatyara Gyanendra chahide na" (We don't want the murderer Gyanendra), the protesters shouted. By 1:30 pm, their mood had turned ugly. On Durbar Marg, barely 500 metres from the palace, youths numbering several hundred threw stones at the police, who retaliated with tear gas. Clashes took place throughout the city, leading to the imposition of curfew at 4:00 pm. The curfew - which will remain till 5 am Tuesday - emptied the city centre completely but sporadic shots could be heard till eight in the evening.
The demonstrators are almost all between the ages of 15 and 25, and though some are lumpen, many are relatively affluent. They insist Deependra could not have killed his parents and that Gyanendra conspired with his son, Paras, to clear the way for himself. "Gyanendra is the king of bullets", shouted one emotional young man. "No one will ever accept him."
The enfant terrible of the royal family, Paras - who is now next in line for the throne - is highly unpopular. He is said to have killed people with his rash driving and bouts of random shooting. Nepalese, therefore, are prepared to believe the worst about him, especially since he was not injured in the palace shoot-out. While this correspondent encountered no one who blamed India for Birendra's death, there are reports that posters have been printed attacking Gyanendra, Paras - and India - for Friday's carnage.
The decision to crown Gyanendra king was taken by the privy council, which met soon after Deependra's death. Anticipating large-scale violence, the authorities postponed his cremation, initially scheduled for 3 pm. The fact that Deependra was cremated while curfew was in place - without giving people a chance to pay their last respects - is bound to be held against Gyanendra and Prime Minister G P Koirala.
Though the investigation promised by the king is likely to be a credible one given the composition of its members, it is difficult to see how any inquiry which suggests Deependra opened fire will be acceptable to people. Several survivors of the palace massacre are believed to have confirmed Deependra shot them but this is a terrible truth many Nepalese will probably not be able to come to terms with for a long time.
"Today is the most crucial day in Gyanendra's reign", an observer here told The Times of India shortly after his coronation. "If the day passes uneventfully, he will pull through. Otherwise, there will be a question mark." The imposition of curfew Monday was not a good omen, but Gyanendra's statesmanlike TV address might just help to swing the pendulum in his favour.
04 June 2001
Speculation rife over happenings on Friday night
4 June 2001
The Times of India
SPECULATION RIFE OVER HAPPENINGS ON FRIDAY NIGHT
By SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN
Times of India News Service
KATHMANDU: In the first official admission that King Birendra and seven other members of the Nepal royal family died of gunshot wounds, Prime Minister G P Koirala and Prince Gyanendra said in separate statements on Sunday that the tragedy occurred when an automatic rifle went off accidentally'. However, they did not mention who fired the shots.
Prior to the broadcast of Gyanendra's statement on Radio Nepal on Sunday morning, the official radio and television stations here only spoke of the swargarohan'', or demise'', of King Birendra and Queen Aishwariya, without mentioning the cause of the death. The government-owned newspaper, Rising Nepal, spoke cryptically of an unanticipated incident''.
The marked absence of the commander-in-chief of the Nepalese armed forces, General Prajjwal Shamsher Rana, from Saturday's cremation of King Birendra and the failure of the official media to mention his name in any context since Friday's brutal massacre at the royal palace is leading to speculation about whether the C-in-C's exclusion is linked in any way to the events leading up to the assassination of the late king.
According to sources in the ruling Nepali Congress, General Rana was not present at the crucial Saturday afternoon sitting of the Raj Parishad, or privy council, which declared crown prince Deependra as the new king. As C-in-C, Rana is an ex-officio member of the council.
In fact, prior to the council's sitting, Prime Minister G P Koirala held a two-hour, closed-door meeting with three other members - Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya, ex-prime minister Marich Man Singh and standing committee chairman Kesar Jang Rai Majhi. After reaching an agreement amongst themselves on declaring Deependra king and Prince Gyanendra regent, the decision was taken to a plenary session of the council for rubber-stamping. Some members protested, demanding to be given the full details of Friday's incident first, but in the end the decision was ratified.
Given the extraordinary opaqueness that pervades officialdom here, and especially everything pertaining to the royal assassination, it is virtually impossible to establish whether there has indeed been a fall-out between Gen Rana and the government. Though no one here is suggesting any army role in Friday's tragedy, it is possible that Rana is being blamed either for lax security or for giving three high-performance automatic rifles to Deependra a few days before the incident, apparently for him to test. There is also speculation that Koirala is upset he was informed about the massacre at 11:15 pm, two hours after it had occurred.
One MP told The Times of India on condition of anonymity that the absence of Gen Rana and the failure of the government to give a digestible version of the incident make it imperative for parliament to convene and demand that the full facts be placed before it. Many here are appalled at the lack of official information about the incident even 48 hours after it occurred. One lawyer said, "People have a right to know. It is humiliating that I should have to turn to the foreign media for news about Nepal."
Some shops reopened Sunday and thousands of people came on foot to pay floral tributes to the late king. There were a few spontaneous demonstrations near the royal palace in the evening with youths demanding that the killer of Birendra be hanged.
Barring the weekly Nepali language newspaper Himal Khabarpatrika, which brought a special bulletin Sunday morning with a full account of the bizarre events at the Royal Palace on Friday night, all other local newspapers continued to play safe, reporting only the official version with some minor embellishments.
The Times of India
SPECULATION RIFE OVER HAPPENINGS ON FRIDAY NIGHT
By SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN
Times of India News Service
KATHMANDU: In the first official admission that King Birendra and seven other members of the Nepal royal family died of gunshot wounds, Prime Minister G P Koirala and Prince Gyanendra said in separate statements on Sunday that the tragedy occurred when an automatic rifle went off accidentally'. However, they did not mention who fired the shots.
Prior to the broadcast of Gyanendra's statement on Radio Nepal on Sunday morning, the official radio and television stations here only spoke of the swargarohan'', or demise'', of King Birendra and Queen Aishwariya, without mentioning the cause of the death. The government-owned newspaper, Rising Nepal, spoke cryptically of an unanticipated incident''.
The marked absence of the commander-in-chief of the Nepalese armed forces, General Prajjwal Shamsher Rana, from Saturday's cremation of King Birendra and the failure of the official media to mention his name in any context since Friday's brutal massacre at the royal palace is leading to speculation about whether the C-in-C's exclusion is linked in any way to the events leading up to the assassination of the late king.
According to sources in the ruling Nepali Congress, General Rana was not present at the crucial Saturday afternoon sitting of the Raj Parishad, or privy council, which declared crown prince Deependra as the new king. As C-in-C, Rana is an ex-officio member of the council.
In fact, prior to the council's sitting, Prime Minister G P Koirala held a two-hour, closed-door meeting with three other members - Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya, ex-prime minister Marich Man Singh and standing committee chairman Kesar Jang Rai Majhi. After reaching an agreement amongst themselves on declaring Deependra king and Prince Gyanendra regent, the decision was taken to a plenary session of the council for rubber-stamping. Some members protested, demanding to be given the full details of Friday's incident first, but in the end the decision was ratified.
Given the extraordinary opaqueness that pervades officialdom here, and especially everything pertaining to the royal assassination, it is virtually impossible to establish whether there has indeed been a fall-out between Gen Rana and the government. Though no one here is suggesting any army role in Friday's tragedy, it is possible that Rana is being blamed either for lax security or for giving three high-performance automatic rifles to Deependra a few days before the incident, apparently for him to test. There is also speculation that Koirala is upset he was informed about the massacre at 11:15 pm, two hours after it had occurred.
One MP told The Times of India on condition of anonymity that the absence of Gen Rana and the failure of the government to give a digestible version of the incident make it imperative for parliament to convene and demand that the full facts be placed before it. Many here are appalled at the lack of official information about the incident even 48 hours after it occurred. One lawyer said, "People have a right to know. It is humiliating that I should have to turn to the foreign media for news about Nepal."
Some shops reopened Sunday and thousands of people came on foot to pay floral tributes to the late king. There were a few spontaneous demonstrations near the royal palace in the evening with youths demanding that the killer of Birendra be hanged.
Barring the weekly Nepali language newspaper Himal Khabarpatrika, which brought a special bulletin Sunday morning with a full account of the bizarre events at the Royal Palace on Friday night, all other local newspapers continued to play safe, reporting only the official version with some minor embellishments.
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