The Prabal Gurung Girl Is Sexy and Smart

The Prabal Gurung Girl Is Sexy and Smart
New York Magazine, 9-Feb-2010

New York's fashion director, Harriet Mays Powell, paid a visit to Prabal Gurung's studio to talk about his cultural influences, his spring collection, and who the ideal Prabal girl is. Gurung, who is Nepalese, draws influence from the draping of saris. "If I can pinpoint one thing about the way that Nepalese women, or even in India, it's the way they drape their saris," he says. "If you look at my clothes, when it's like draping, it's always influenced by that." Prabal was also influenced by YSL's Rive Gauche perfume bottle. And what makes a girl a Prabal girl? "A beautiful girl with brains — that's a lethal combination." Find out more by watching the video.

Divide and rule

Divide and rule
ekantipur, 10-Feb-10
Bipin Adhikari

The Constituent Assembly Committee on State Restructuring and Allocation of State Powers (CSRASP) has finally published its report reaffirming its controversial commitment to re-design Nepal on the basis of federalisation along ethnic lines and resulting discontent.

As a principle, it is not uncommon to see various in-built constitutional mechanisms around the world for addressing the priorities and desires of minority or ethnic groups on a state or sub-state level. A number of institutions and procedures have been internalised by new democracies to ensure that the human rights of all communities and cultures are protected, and justice is proactively done to all those who have been exploited in the past in different ways, deprived for generations and marginalised. There have been many success stories which could serve as the point of departure for learning how to do what is best for this country along the most democratic traditions.

That was not the temperament of the CSRASP. It would indeed be very naive for anybody to expect any committee to show this temperament when one realises how fraudulently the stage was organised to set the scene for the Fourth Amendment to the Interim Constitution. The country was declared a federal state outright in December 2007 while a jumbo Constituent Assembly was being convened — precluding discussion in the house over this important issue for ever. There was no more any choice as to whether this country should “go” federal or not; the choice was only what type of federal arrangement it should seek. The house was accorded only a limited right to self-determination in this matter.

A country can certainly go for federalism if this is the decision of its Constituent Assembly. But, as a visiting British scholar pointed out recently, federalism is not inherently a superior form of democracy. It cannot guarantee democracy or good governance any more than a unitary government can. Its success depends on so many important political and other variables. If these variables contribute, even unitary states can have high performance. The house was deprived of the opportunity to debate it.

This critique always recommended asymmetrical devolution arrangements in Nepal, based on reasonable claims, capacity and potentials of each province in the country. This arrangement could provide a means for accomplishing the goal of addressing ethnic, regional, lingual and cultural discontent by granting different powers to different provinces, with an emphasis on local demand and their regional ability to control their own affairs. The constitution could have provided the necessary framework for a negotiated settlement of all issues based on given models. Such measures could have addressed or prevented disputes that otherwise would have the potential to destabilise the country’s democratic process. But it is important that these mechanisms are not based on discriminatory arrangements.

A 14-province Nepal is a big joke. It is not economically workable. It is a recipe for disaster in terms of organisation and management. It is not, as claimed, based on “identity” and “ability to stand”. There is cynicism in the demarcation of the provinces, and also the basis on which their size is determined. Most of these provinces will not be able to survive with the blueprint of autonomy that the draft intends to demonstrate for even six months.

Again, the proposal that seven of these provinces be given identity based on ethnicity and the others should go ahead on non-ethnic categorisation is going to be the bête noire of this arrangement. It links Rai-Limbus, Sherpas, Newars, Gurungs, Magars and Tamangs with their so-called lands, leaving the other 96 ethnic groups in the country to manifest themselves or their language, culture, religion and ethnicity through the remaining seven provinces.

The report does not explain anywhere why the identity of a few ethnic groups is more sacred than the identity of others. It does not explain why Khasas or Tharus should not have exclusive “Khasan” or “Tharuhat” the way “Kirantis” have an exclusive Kirant. If there could be a “Jadan” out of the blue, why cannot there be a “Yadavdesh” in the Tarai? If the history of relationship with the land is the factor, which has been accepted as the criteria for naming and shaming communities this way, then the committee report should be able to demonstrate some rigorous research on what is the communal history of Nepal.

There are many potential pitfalls to this approach. If a certain region can have an ethnic name even though 60 percent of the people in that province are people outside this group, why should not this same categorisation work in the case of Tharus. After all, there is little controversy that Tharus along with some other identical smaller communities are the original inhabitants of that territory. Why should the so-called “Tharuhat” share its name with non-Tharuhat people simply because the demography has changed over the last few decades? There is no reply to this question as well. The charge of in-built constitutional discrimination, and potential fault lines in this framework, cannot be avoided with such an arrangement.

It is quite one thing to create a formal political space for ethnic identities and harness the country’s available political strength in support of this, but it is quite another to beef up discriminatory ethnic arrangements. These political variables apart, the symmetrical approach that the committee has applied in the matter of centre-state relations may not make this federalisation a workable model. The way the province of Jadan has been created and the Sherpa province has been established, nobody needs to doubt that developing a viable economy and an effective financial resources management will not be easy. The committee has not even tried to ensure administrative viability for most of the provinces, nor has it been able to see the farmland capacity of the demarcated territories. This is another funny part of the report.

Finally, the committee seems to have taken the challenges of globalisation as a non-issue. In the 21st century, globalisation has placed new demands on organisational systems of all types, including the restructuring of states. Whether a state is federal or unitary, its interests in relation to the rest of the nations have to be protected creating a competitive economic advantage for it. The report contains nothing about how a tribal state is going to secure a competitive advantage for Nepal. What it has done instead is create space for those who want to divide and rule this country based on ethnic strife.

Cheap Broadway Eats Before Showtime, From Tofu to Oxtail Soup

Cheap Broadway Eats Before Showtime, From Tofu to Oxtail Soup
Bloomberg, 2-Feb-10
Review by Yvette Fernandez

Chez Napoleon (French)
365 W. 50th St. [bet 8th & 9th Ave]
Ph: 212-265-6980 www.cheznapoleon.com

It’s a family affair at Chez Napoleon, a restaurant in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen that opened in 1960. On its walls are oil-lamp sconces, framed jigsaw puzzles and old family photos of its current owners, the Brunos.

For theatergoers willing to walk an extra block or two before or after a Broadway show, numerous eateries west of Eighth Avenue and east, closer to Sixth, offer great food at prices lower than many central theater area restaurants.

At Chez Napoleon, the family’s 88-year-old matriarch, Marguerite, can still be found in the kitchen on busy weekend nights. Her daughter Elyane takes care of the front of the house, while grandson Guillaume mans the bar.

French bistro classics make up the menu: escargots ($8) or frogs’ legs ($23) in garlicky butter, coq au vin ($19), beef Bourguignon ($20), and rabbit in a mustard and wine sauce ($22).

A $30 three-course, prix-fixe menu is served all evening. The night we dropped in, main courses included a whole trout with brown butter and lemon juice, and pork medallions with mushroom sauce.

We ended with a fluffy Grand Marnier souffle ($16) large enough to share.


Kyotofu (Japanese)
705 Ninth Ave. [bet 48th and 49th St]
Ph: 212-974-6012;
www.kyotofu-nyc.com

Kyotofu’s streamlined cream-colored space feels like a downtown nightclub with its dim lighting and thumping music, which needs some volume adjusting before we ever go back.

Still, we enjoyed tasting plates ($4 each) of barbecued eel in phyllo, pork sausage in puff pastry, grilled teriyaki chicken sliders, and a patty of curried rice, shimeji and shiitake mushrooms with arugula.

Cold green tea soba noodles came with scallion and wasabi ($8), an orb of soft tofu was served with a miso-dressed salad of greens, beets and onions ($9).

Great signature desserts included silken bean curd drenched with sugar syrup and green tea tofu cheesecake ($12), along with complimentary fudgy little cupcakes.


Kellari Taverna (Greek)
19 W. 44th St. [bet 5th & 6th Ave]
Ph: 212-221-0144
www.kellari.us

Kellari Taverna is the fanciest on this list, a warmly lit space with high ceilings, wooden beams and floors, and fresh whole fish displayed on ice. Go for the bargain $32.95 three- course prix-fixe menu served daily between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.

We started with spinach and feta cheese pie and grilled whole sardines. Next, baked sea bass wrapped in grape leaves, orzo with shrimp, mussels and clams, or simple roast chicken with mashed potatoes. For dessert, honeyed walnut cake and fig ice cream.

Regular dinner main courses usually run from the roast chicken for $25.95 to a New York strip for $37.95. Fresh fish and other seafood are sold by the pound starting at about $26.95.


Utsav (Indian)
1185 Sixth Ave. [bet 46th and 47th St]
Ph: 212-575-2525
www.utsavny.com

Utsav, which is Sanskrit for “festival,” serves dishes from various regions in India. Its $30 pre-theater menu is available daily from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Saffron-tinged fabrics are draped, tent-like, from the ceiling of the airy room. Request a banquette next to the large picture windows for a view of the sidewalk trees dotted with pin lights.

We started with deep-fried samosas and lightly battered cauliflower dressed in a garlic tomato sauce. Next, yogurt- marinated chicken in a tomato cream sauce or a tender lamb stew.

For vegetarians, there’s roasted eggplant, spiced spinach with cubes of soft cheese, or a mixed vegetable curry.

For dessert, an ultra-sweet rice pudding, and even sweeter kulfi, a frozen milk dish similar to ice cream.


Wondee Siam (Thai)
792 9th Ave
Ph: 212- 582-0355

Pam Real Thai Food (Thai)
404 W. 49th St.
Ph: 212-333-7500

Q2 (Thai)
788 9th Ave
Ph: 212-262-2236
q2thainyc.com

Hell’s Kitchen is home to a number of Thai places that are easy on the pocket. For years we’ve headed to hole-in-the-wall Wondee Siam for its beautifully lacquered duck with tamarind sauce ($13.95) and beef sauteed with basil, garlic and onions. Friends swear by the rich oxtail soup with lime and chilies ($10.95) and rice with anchovy paste ($7.50) at Pam Real Thai Food.

We recently dropped by Q2, with newer, slightly sleeker decor than the other two. We liked its flat noodles sauteed with shrimp, egg and basil ($9.95) and its fried rice flecked with crabmeat, carrots and tomatoes ($9.95).


Five Napkin Burger (Burgers)
630 9th Ave
Ph; 212-757-2277
www.fivenapkinburger.com.

For a quick bite, there’s Five Napkin Burger with its eponymous dish ($14.95): over half a pound of ground chuck topped with gruyere cheese, caramelized onions and aioli.

We liked the pub-like atmosphere and quirky decor: Naked light bulbs and meat hooks hang from its high ceilings; weighing scales are scattered about.

Other sandwiches (all served with fries): the 5N foot-long dog ($14.95) with mustard, cheddar, relish, tomatoes, onions and pickled jalapenos; and the Buffalo chicken ($13.50) with hot sauce and blue cheese dressing. I thought about its dense chocolate layer cake for days.


Eatery (Comfort Food)
798 9th Ave
Ph: 212-765-7080
www.eaterynyc.com

At Eatery, we squeezed in with a crowd of skinny young people who nibbled on small plates and talked loudly to hear each other above the din.

We fed ourselves well with riffs on comfort food: greens with Southern fried chicken, cheddar cheese, corn, pecans and buttermilk dressing ($12.95), and baked macaroni with jack cheese and fried onions ($13.95).

UK suspends Nepali student visa applications

UK suspends Nepali student visa applications
ekantipur, 31-Jan-10

Britain has temporarily suspended new student visa applications under the “tier 4 Point Based System” from Nepal after a sharp rise in applications, the British Embassy in Kathmandu said on Sunday. The move will not affect applicants in other visa categories.

The embassy informed in a statement that it has stopped accepting applications from Monday onwards and the suspension will be reviewed after a month.

The embassy did not release figures, but it is estimated that the number of applicants have gone up dramatically in recent months after Britain introduced tier 4 Point Based System in March last year. Under this system, students wanting to pursue further studies in Britain do not have to show source of income or property evaluation.

British officials said the move was a response to the unexpectedly high number of student visa applications from South Asia.

The suspension of visa applications also follows recent media reports of unscrupulous use of the student visa to settle in the UK. Only last week, Britain suspended at least 60 UK-based bogus institutions.

Chris Dix, Regional Director of UK Border Agency (UKBA), said in the statement that the suspension would allow UKBA to continue to scrutinise applications thoroughly and to manage the visa process efficiently for all customers in Nepal.

The appointments of Tier 4 visa applicants at the visa application centre in Kathmandu have also been suspended from Monday until the UKBA begins the process.

This move will badly affect educational consultancies for whom Britain is the main source of business. Of late, Britain has emerged as the main education destination for Nepali students, overtaking the US and Australia. Ministry of Education data show that 4,200 students get ‘No Objection Letter’ from the ministry every month. In the last two months, 6,000 students got the letter from the ministry.

Educational Consultancy Association of Nepal (ECAN), the umbrella organisation of educational consultancies, said the move would have a negative impact on genuine students who wouldn’t get there in time for their courses.

“It is not good to suspend the application without prior notice as it will adversely affect applicants, who have already made appointments at the visa application centre in Kathmandu,” said Uttam Pant, president of ECAN. He fears the suspension will not be reviewed anytime soon.
Rising number of students going abroad for higher studies means more money flowing out of the country.

Nepal Rastra Bank data show students studying abroad, including Britain, have taken away Rs. 12.12 billion from the country in the last fiscal year. And, in the first four months of the current fiscal year, Rs. 5.59 billion flowed out of the country for this purpose. The availability of sterling pound was also affected by increment in the number of students leaving for Britain. According to a banker, shortage of sterling pound still exists in the banking system

An Electoral History of Nepal

Compiled by NepaliEconomy.com

First Election: 1959
The first democratic election for national Parliament in Nepal's history took place on February 18, 1959. Nepali Congress (NC) won 74 of 109 seats, Gorkha Parishad won 19 and Communist Parties 9. 1.79 million or 44 percent of electorate voted in this first election.

BP Koirala became the Prime Minister (PM) on May 27, 1959. While the PM was the head of the government, the supreme power resided with the King. The 1959 Constitution which the King promulgated himself one week before the election gave him the right, under Articles 55 and 56, to cancel/suspend the Constitution in cases of emergency. King Mahendra used that authority to banish BP Koirala's government on December 15, 1960.

On December 16, 1962 a new Panchayat Constitution written under Chairmanship of Rishikesh Shah was promulgated. The 1962 Constitution did not explicitly forbade political parties but the amended Constitution of 1967 did. Prior to 1967, banning of political parties was made possible by the Royal Ordinances of December 15, 1960 and later Control of Organization and Association Act. During this period Parliamentarians (MPs) were chosen indirectly. There were 125 members, elected from different segments of the society - Monarchy (16), Zonal Assemblies (90), Class Organizations (15) and Graduate Constituency (4). This electoral arrangement remained intact until 1981.

Although Rastriya Panchayat was nominally the Supreme legislative body of the country, it acted more like an advisory council to the King. The King had the pejorative to chose the PMs and ministers and to veto any laws. Implicitly that meant the Royals were above the law. The 1967 Constitution gave PMs a maximum of 5 year long tenure but in practice they were appointed and discharged at whim least they created an alternative center of power to the monarchy. During the first 20 years of the Panchayat system, there was rapid turnover of PMs - Tulsi Giri (Dec'60-Dec'63), Surya Bahadur Thapa (Dec'63-Feb'64), Tulsi Giri (Feb'64-Jan'65), Surya Bahadur Thapa (Jan'65-Apr'69), Kirti Nidhi Bista (Apr'69-Apr'70), Mahendra Bikram Shah (Apr'70-Apr'71), Kirti Nidhi Bista (Apr'71-Jul'73), Nagendra Prasad Risal (Jul'73-Dec'75), Tulsi Giri (Dec'75-Sep'77) and Kirti Nidhi Bista (Sep'77-May'79).

Second Election: 1980
In April-May 1979 (2036 BS), there were series of students protest against the Panchayat system. Instead of giving in to the protestors, the King announced on May 23, 1979 that he would hold a referendum to allow people to chose between Panchayat system and multi-party system.

Surya Bahadur Thapa was appointed the PM on May 30, 1979.

In a May 2, 1980 referendum, Panchayat system won with 54.7 percent of votes. Voter turnout was 4.2 million or 66 percent of eligible voters. In December 1980 the 1962 Constitution was amended for the third time, and it allowed (a) direct election of MPs (b) MPs to select a single candidate for the PM; hiterto, selection of the PM was the pejorative of the King.

Third Election: 1981
On May 9, 1981 election was held to elect 112 members of Rastriya Panchayat - 28 were nominated by the King. Since major political parties boycotted the election, the voter turnout was only about 52 percent.

Surya Bahadur Thapa retained his post as the PM following the election. The direct election of MPs and the selection of the PM by MPs took away the built-in patronage system and created factionalism and rivalry within the Pachas. This led to the downfall of PM Thapa in July 1983 following a no-confidence motion prompted by serious food crisis and charges of corruption.

Lokendra Bahadur Chand was appointed the PM on July 12, 1983 but was immediately hit with a no confidence motion, which he survived.

Fourth Election: 1986
On May 12, 1986 election was held again for 112 members of Rastriya Panchayat. Officially, the voter turnout was about 60 percent, and this despite Satyagraha or civil disobedience campaign by NC to disrupt the election. Results showed a huge turnover in MPs. Almost 40 percent of the incumbents lost their seats, and half of that, or around 20 percent of seats were won by reformists or opposition posing as independents.

Marich Man Singh Shrestha became the PM on June 15, 1986. On March 23, 1989 Nepal's trade and transit treaty with India expired, and India closed all the transit points but two. The country went through a severe economic crisis. This put enormous pressure on the Panchayat system.

The Panchayat era came to an end in 1990. On January 15, 1990 seven Communist parties united under the United Left Front (ULF) and formed an alliance with NC to bring an end to the Panchayat system. After two months of protests, strikes and mass demonstrations, the King succumbed. On April 15, he dissolved the transitional government under PM Lokendra Bahadur Chand who had replaced the hardliner PM Marich Man Singh Shrestha on April 6.

Krishna Prasad Bhattarai (KP Bhattarai), a NC leader, was appointed the PM and the head of interim government on April 19, 1990. That government constituted a 9-person Committee to draft a Constitution, and the Constitution was promulgated by King Birendra on November 9, 1990.

Fifth Election: 1991
On May 12, 1991 election for 205 member lower house of the Parliament was held. NC won the absolute majority with 110 seats followed by UML with 69 seats. The voter turnout was about 65 percent.

Girija Prasad Koirala (GP Koirala) became the Prime Minister on May 26, 1991. PM Koirala could not complete his full-term because of mutiny within his party. In July 1994, following the defeat of KP Bhattarai in a by-election, 35 MPs from his own party abstained in (or rather did not show up for) a parliamentary vote to approve the government's annual programs and policies. The government resigned and called for a mid-term election. This decision was challenged in the Supreme Court (SC) but SC sided with the Koirala government.

Sixth Election: 1994
On November 15, 1994 a mid-term election took place. UML became the largest party with 88 seats followed by NC with 83 seats.

UML leader Man Mohan Adhikari formed a minority government on November 30, 1994 but it did not last a year. The government tried to preclude its fall by calling a mid-term election but the SC rejected the petition - this decision was contradictory to its previous one in 1994. NC tabled and won a no-confidence motion against the government in September 1995 and the UML government fell.

Sher Bahadur Deuba (SB Deuba) became the PM on September 12 1995. He was the leader of NC's parliament party (PP) and his was a coalition government of NC, Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and Nepal Sadvavana Party (NSP). On February 4, 1996 the Maoists made 40-Point demand to the PM asking him to respond by February 17. But on February 13, the Maoists launched the "People's War" with attacks on police stations in Rukum, Rolpa, Gorkha and Sindhuli districts. Deuba government fell in March 1997 when several RPP MPs supported UML's no confidence motion against the government.

Lokendra Bahadur Chand became the PM on March 12, 1997 with the support of UML and NSP. This government lasted only 7 months. It fell when most of RPP MPs joined hands with NC against its own government.

Surya Bahadur Thapa became the PM on October 7, 1997 with the support of NC and NSP. The political turmoil took a toll on the parties and RPP split into RPP (C) and RRP (T) in January 1998 and UML into UML and ML in March 1998. NC became the largest party in the Parliament. Surya Bahadur Thapa resigned under pressure from re-surging NC.

GP Koirala became the PM on April 15, 1998 leading a minority government backed by UML. He announced plans to hold election in May 1999. However in August that year he was able to bring in ML to form a majority government but by December there was a fallout with ML. He resigned from the government but returned as the PM on December 25, 1998 with the support UML and NSP with promise of holding election in May 1999.

Seventh Election: 1999
General elections were held in two stages on May 3 and May 17, 1999. NC returned as a majority party with 113 seats. UML won 68 seats and the breakaway ML none.

KP Bhattarai became the PM for the second time (1990) on May 31, 1999. The intra-party scwabble between GP Koirala faction and KB Bhattarai-SB Deuba faction continued. On March 14, 2000 69 GP Koirala-affiliated NC MPs tabled no confidence motion against the PM with their PP for failing to uphold law and order. KP Bhattarai was forced to resign.

GP Koirala became the PM on March 20, 2000 after defeating SB Deuba on NC PP vote (69 vs. 43 with 1 invalid vote), the first ever for NC.

On June 1, 2001 there was a Royal Massacre. In a bizarre incident, Crown Prince Dipendra allegedly slaughtered his entire family - King, Queen, brother and sister - along with 5 other aunts and uncles before killing himself. Gynendra, who was out-of-town during the massacre ascended the throne on June 4, 2001.

PM Koirala resigned on July 19, 2001 because of (a) Lauda scandal (b) his disagreement with the Army and the King over the deployment of Royal Nepal Army (RNA) against the Maoists (c) peace talks with the Maoists became impossible with Koirala at the helm. SB Deuba became the leader of NC PP beating Sushil Koirala (72 vs 40)

SB Deuba became the PM on July 26, 2001. He initiated peace talks with the Maoists in August and September but it failed in November because the government refused to entertain their demand that monarchy be replaced by a Constituent Assembly (CA). Maoists walked out and ended their 4-month long ceasefire.

On November 23, 2001 the Maoists attacked RNA for the first time killing 14 soldiers at Gorahi base in Dang District. On November 25, they attacked several parts of the country including Salleri, the district headquarter of Solokhumbu. Until then the Maoists rebellion had only targeted ill-equipped police. With the entry of RNA into the conflict, stakes as well as causaulties rose significantly. In the first 6 years of the conflict, about 2,100-3,000 had been killed, but in the next 4 years another 10,000 would lose their lives.

On November 26, 2001 Deuba government declared a State of Emergency for 3 months, which was extended by another 3 months in February 2002. When the renewal time came up again in May, Deuba government realized it did not have the support to extend it for another six months. To preclude a constitutional crisis PM Deuba dissolved the Parliament on May 22, 2002 and called for a new election. On May 27, 2002 the King announced mid-term election for November 13, 2002. This announcement caused a serious rift between GP Koirala and SB Deuba, and on June 18, 2002 the party split vertically into GP-led NC and SB-led NC (Democratic). Interestingly, on February 15, 2002 UML and ML re-merged into UML.

On October 4, 2002, the King invoked Article 127 of the Constitution to dismiss the PM and the Parliament. The purported reason was that the government was not able to hold the mid-election scheduled for November 13, 2002.

Lokendra Bahadur Chand became the PM for the fourth time (1983, 1990, 1997) on October 11, 2002. He did not last long because of the agitation by major political parties - NC, NC (D) and UML.

Surya Bahadur Thapa became the PM for the fifth time (1963, 1965, 1979, 1997) on June 3 2003. Political parties continued their agitation and that led to his downfall.

SB Deuba became the PM for the third time (1995, 2001) on June 2, 2004. He was re-instated with the support of UML, NSP and RPP (RPP-T and RPP-C had merged following 1999 election). This divided the political parties into those in the government and those outside. NC, which remained outside continued to protest against the government calling for the re-instatement of the Parliament.

On February 1, 2005 King Gynendra dismissed SB Deuba government for the second time and declared a State of Emergency. The King himself became the head of the government with the title Chairman of Council of Ministers. On February 14 two acolytes Tulsi Giri and Kirtinidhi Bista were appointed Vice-Chairmen.

On May 8, 2005 major parties including NC and UML formed Seven Party Aliance (SPA) and announced "common agreement and commitment" that called for the restoration of Parliament and holding of an election thereafter. SPA spearheaded agitation against the King's rule.

On November 22, 2005 SPA and the Maoists signed 12-Point Agreement in New Delhi. This brought together the two most powerful political forces in the country. Protest against the King's rule continued and surged ahead of February 8, 2006 local election. The SPA announced second Peoples' movement with 4-day nationwide general strike starting April 5. On April 9, SPA announced indefinite strike. On April 21, the King bent to the political pressure and asked SPA to form a government which it rejected. On August 24, after 19 days of protest, the King succumbed and re-instated the Parliament.

GP Koirala was elected the PM for the fourth time (1991, 1998, 2000) on April 25, 2006 by the re-instated Parliament. On May 18, the Parliament voted to strip most of the powers of the King.

On November 7, 2006 SPA and the Maoists signed 6-Point Agreement that formally ended the 10-Year Maoist insurgency. On November 21, they signed Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

On January 15, 2007, as per the Agreement, the Parliament that was elected in 1999, dismissed by King Gynendra in 2005 and reinstated in 2006 was dissolved and replaced by a 330-member Interim Parliament. It included members of SPA and the Maoists but not RPP because they did not participate in People's movement. An Interim Constitution was promulgated and it set the date for CA election for June 20, 2007.

The Interim Constitution did not fully take into account grievances of Tarai people. On January 16, 2007 Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum (MJF) called for general strike in Tarai calling for the amendment to the Constitution. Unrests in Tarai flared up. Madeshi politicians affiliated with major parties (NC, UML and Maoists) started to coalesce around Mahesh-centric parties.

On March 9, 2007 the first amendment to the Interim Constitution gave in to Madheshis' demands that (a) Nepal would have a federal structure (b) reference to explicit numbers of CA seats were removed. Prior to the amendment, 205 were elected through first-past-the-post (FPTP) basis, 204 through proporational representation, and 16 were nominated by the Interim government.

On April 1, 2007 a new cabinet with 5 Maoists were sworn into office.

On June 13, 2007 the second amendment to the Interim Constitution postponed CA election to November and provided provision for the immediate removal of the King with two-thirds majority if he conspired to disrupt it.

On Septmber 18, 2007 the Maoists in the government resigned when their demands to make Nepal a Republic and to elect CA members through proportional representation were not met.

On September 25, 2007 NC and NC (D) re-merged into NC in preparation for CA election.

On December 28, 2007, the third amendment to the Interim Constitution made certain provisions (a) the deadline for CA election was moved from 15 December 2007 to 12 April 2008 (b) CA’s FPTP seats were increased to 240, proportional representation seats were increased to 335 and PM's nomination were increased to 26 (c) Nepal would be declared a "Republic" in the first sitting of CA with a simple majority.

On December 30, 2007 the Maoists re-joined the government with 5 Ministers and 2 State Ministers.

On February 9, 2008 MJF, SP and Tarai-Madhesh Loktantrik Party (TMLP) formed the United Democratic Madhesi Front.

Eighth Election: 2008
On April 10, 2008 election for 240 FPTP members of CA was held. About 60 percent of eligible voters participated. Maoists won 120 seats, NC 37, UML 33 and Madhesh Jana Adhikar Forum (MJF) 30. Combined with proportional representation seats, Maoists had 229, NC 115, UML 108 and MJF 54 in the 601-seat CA.

On May 28, 2008 the first session of CA made fourth amendment to the Interim Constitution whereby the 240 year-old monarchy was abolished. It also created ‘constitutional president’ and ‘executive prime minister’.

On June 11, 2008 King Gynendra left Narayanhiti Palace to spend his life as a commoner.

On July 13, 2008 the fifth amendment to the Interim Constitution allowed the formation and dismissal of government, President, Vice-President and Chairman and Deputy Chairman of CA through simple majority.

Ram Baran Yadav (RB Yadav) become the First President of Nepal on July 21, 2008 with the support of NC and UML in the second round of voting defeating Maoists supported Ram Raja Prasad Singh (308 vs 282).

On July 23, 2008 GP Koirala submitted his resignation to the newly sworn President RB Yadav.

Prachanda was voted as the PM defeating SB Deuba on August 15, 2008 (464 vs 113). He was sworn in 3 days later. He formed a coalition government with UML and MJF. He resigned on May 4, 2009 over his disagreement with the President over the dismissal of Army Chief Rukmangad Katuwal.

Madav Kumar Nepal was elected the PM on May 23, 2009 unopposed and sworn in on May 25 as the head of 22-party coalition government. This caused the split in the third largest party MJF into MJF and MJF (Loktantrik). MJF (L) led by Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar joined the government while MJF led by Upendra Yadav stayed in the opposition.

The new Constitution must be written before May 28, 2010 - two years after the first sitting of the CA - but at the current pace, it is a tall order. Mr. Surya Dhungel, a constitutional expert, has an OpEd piece on what could happen if the deadline is missed.

To be continued.

Bibliography

General
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Story of Chipotle Mexican Grill

Knowledge@Wharton
20-Jan-2010

It's a classic variation of the American success story: An aspiring entrepreneur starts a hole-in-the-wall restaurant serving food that's quick and unpretentious. Pretty soon, he starts a second restaurant, and then a third. Investors flock to the company, attracted to the owner's relentlessly perfectionist style. Before long, identical versions of that hole-in-the-wall have popped up in food courts and strip malls all across the country. And it's only a matter of time before this simple fast-food joint decides to take on the world.

On one level, that story describes the career of Steve Ells, who in 1993 founded a burrito restaurant in Denver that he called Chipotle Mexican Grill. Today, that restaurant is a publicly traded company with $1.3 billion in revenues from some 900 restaurants across North America. On November 14, 2009, Ells formally announced plans for the first European Chipotle, on London's Charing Cross Road, set to open next April.In January, Chipotle announced that it was also scouting potential locations in France and Germany.

But, as he made clear in a November Wharton Leadership Lecture, Ells is not your average chain-restaurant tycoon, a Colonel Sanders in trendy eyewear. And the chain he founded is not your average fast-food behemoth. As such, it provides a case study in whether a firm can thrive even as it spends extra money to honor a set of non-economic values. Ells believes the answer is yes.

"Chipotle now buys more naturally-raised meat -- antibiotic-free and no growth hormones, and fed an all-vegetarian diet -- than any other restaurant company in the world," he said. "I'm very proud of that, and it's more sustainable than the mass-produced commodity way." The chain has also begun buying organic beans and trying to source vegetables locally in-season. "All of a sudden I find myself with this team of 25,000 Chipotle employees who are excited about feeding people really good, sustainably raised food."

According to Ells, "We have an opportunity to change the way people think about fast food, which is what most people in this country eat." Much of it, he said, is based on the Ray Kroc model and the standard set by McDonald's. "Now we have a business model that's based on spending more for sustainably raised foods, and also making a very handsome profit and providing real growth opportunities."

A graduate of the famous Culinary Institute of America, Ells never meant to re-invent fast food. Quite the contrary: Having trained in classical French cooking and apprenticed at nationally celebrated gastronomic landmarks like San Francisco's celebrated Stars restaurant, his goal was to start his own white-tablecloth, haute-cuisine palace. But restaurant start-ups are costly and risky. So he decided to move home to Denver and open a local version of the cheap, tasty taquerias that he had loved in California. The plan was to use Chipotle as a cash cow to fund the "real" restaurant he dreamed about.

That didn't happen. Opened in an 800-square-foot former ice cream shop, Chipotle was an instant hit, making $30,000 a month. A rave newspaper review followed. The reviewer "said things like, 'Everything has depth and character, nuance, layers and layers of flavor,' describing it like it was some fine restaurant," even though the dish in question was an oversized burrito that came wrapped in tinfoil, Ells noted. "After that, there was not only a line, but a line out the door. We ran out of food."

Precision Cooking

Using cash flow and a loan from his father, Ells opened a second Chipotle, which "blew away the first." Despite his good fortune, Ells said, he actually felt guilty: He wanted to be a legendary chef, not a hustling fast-food entrepreneur. "So it was like, 'Okay, I'm going to start just one more, and then I'll start a real restaurant.'" But the chain's growth kept putting that off. Eventually Ells chalked up Chipotle's success to the fact that, unwittingly, he had been treating it like a real restaurant all along.

"Every single customer who came through that door was precious," he stated. "I had to give them a very special experience. I had a small crew. I taught them how to cook. I taught them how to grill the chicken just right and how to make beans -- you have to toast the cumin seeds until they just start smoking a little bit, and then grind them in the mortar and pestle -- and how to chop garlic so it doesn't oxidize, so you get a nice, fresh garlicky flavor.... It was very precise. We're cooking burritos and tacos here, but I was applying the classical French chef mentality that I had learned in cooking school. I would throw things and yell, and I had a temper. It was really quite a scene."

Ells, whose chain was on track to add roughly 120 new restaurants in 2009, says he is "opening three real restaurants a week, sometimes four." The Chipotles that have spread out from Denver still look a lot like the first store, right down to the simple corrugated metal surfaces that Ells installed back when he was doing his own manual labor. It's been a lot trickier, though, to maintain his fastidious French chef-style control over ingredients and techniques.

Much of his disdain for "mass-commodity" ingredients is a question of personal values. Once he became a big enough buyer of pork, he asked to see the facility the meat came from. "It really is terrifying," he said. "There's so much exploitation that I witnessed there, not only from the animal-protection point of view." He was also disturbed by the environmental consequences of the waste run-off from the facility -- and the public-health implications of having a pork supply kept on low-dose antibiotics to ward off diseases that could spread in industrial confinement.

"I knew at that moment I did not want my success to be based on this kind of exploitation," he said. "So we started buying all naturally-raised meat." But it wasn't just a question of being humane. His initial curiosity about the meat supply was actually prompted by the fact that he was unimpressed with the quality. By switching sources, he said, he wound up with a product that, to customers, just tasted better.

Ells' status as the anti-Ray Kroc is not without its ironies. As Chipotle began to take off and Ells began looking for sources of capital beyond family and cash flow, he wound up doing business with a certain global hamburger chain that was looking to invest in new business: McDonald's. Following an initial investment in 1998, the company held a majority stake as of 2001. By the time McDonald's divested, in 2006, Chipotle had 540 stores -- up from 18 when they first linked arms.

Lords of the Rings

"Culturally, Chipotle and McDonald's are just worlds apart," Ells noted, joking that his casually-dressed office staff referred to visiting McDonald's bigwigs as "the rings" because of the jewelry on the men's fingers. But he described the relationship as productive. "They really liked what I was doing," he said, recounting how he took executives into his kitchens and commissaries to show them cooking procedures that must have looked extraordinarily cumbersome to a firm accustomed to taking an industrial approach to flavor. One of them, Ells recalled, said the young Chipotle founder reminded him of Kroc.

The firms decided to part ways in 2006, Ells said, because McDonald's was eager to focus on its core business. And Ells was happy he no longer had to navigate the contrasting corporate cultures. "We just didn't see eye to eye," he said. Chipotle went public in an IPO that saw its share price double in one day -- the second-best restaurant IPO of all time. McDonald's, Ells added, ultimately made $1.2 billion after putting some $360 million into the chain.

Among the major differences with the golden arches: McDonald's wanted Chipotle to follow its franchise model. Ells -- ever the detail-obsessed chef -- resisted. "We wanted to own the economic model. You franchise if you want money and people. We had plenty of money for our growth rate, and we had great people." Ultimately, he decided, the firm was going to grow the way he wanted.

As someone with no particular business background, Ells has surrounded himself with seasoned pros, although he prefers not to hire top executives with a chain-restaurant background for fear that too much conventional wisdom will seep into the corporation. Four years ago, for example, Ells brought in as co-CEO an old friend named Montgomery F. Moran, whom he describes as an incredible leader of people. "He's a trial lawyer. And he said, 'Steve, I don't know anything about the restaurant business. I can't do this.' And I'm like, 'Perfect.... I don't want another seasoned fast-food executive.' In fact, I don't want any of them. I want them to think differently about things. This was one of my big mistakes during the McDonald's years: I let some of that [attitude] come into the organization.... We're very proud of doing things on our own terms."

One of the favorite innovations with Moran, Ells said, is something called the "restaurateur" program, under which Chipotle managers are designated restaurateurs, a status that comes with significant possible financial benefits. To be a restaurateur, a manager has to have a perfect store -- including a top-notch staff. "Every single person on the staff has to be somehow inspired and have characteristics that you can't teach: infectious enthusiasm, honesty, clean, presentable, good hygiene, fun to talk to, great eye contact, the kind of stuff you look for in a friend," he said.

The result, he added, was that turnover went up as managers looked to rid themselves of subpar staffers who might keep them from becoming a restaurateur. In addition, restaurateurs get a $10,000 bonus whenever one of their staff becomes a store manager. "We want them to assemble a team of high performers," he said. "The fast food business is plagued with people who are generally low performers.... No fast-food chain fires staff. They're like: 'Please! Come work!'" Chipotle, with a reputation for better pay than many chains, according to Ells, is also in a better position to replace entry-level staff who have been pushed out. "Chipotle has been built on word-of-mouth primarily, and I think we have developed a good bond with a lot of our customers." He said that sort of reputation could be extended through social media and a style that reflected Chipotle's unpretentious stores.

The son of a pharmaceutical executive, Ells grew up in Colorado and studied art history at the University of Colorado before switching gears and going to culinary school. He still lives in Denver, where Chipotle is headquartered. And, he says, he still loves a good burrito.

The Chipotle model -- with its better ingredients, better staffers and slightly higher prices -- is the wave of the future, Ells states, mostly because it matches the health, taste and philosophical priorities of the modern market. "We had a period of extraordinary, double digit same-store growth. I think it's a testament to what people want to eat. I'm hoping that more companies use Chipotle's model: Good food and not having preservatives or artificial [ingredients].... I hope it displaces the stuff that's based on exploitation, not only of the land and animals, but of people's taste buds and health."