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The 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly is under way in New York, US. The key session or the general debate, where world leaders are addressing, started on Sept 20 and it will end on the 26th. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, UNGA was held in a hybrid format in 2020 and 2021. This year, it is going to be a fully in-person event. The gathering of world leaders is an opportunity for high-level dignitaries to visit the UN headquarters and discuss world issues. It is also an opportunity to hold bilateral talks on the margins of the assembly. Indian and Chinese foreign ministers S Jainshankar and Wang Yi respectively are scheduled to address the assembly. Nepal’s Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka, however, sent Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal in his lieu. Geopolitical analyst Geja Sharma Wagle says it would have been better if there were a high-level participation from Nepal in the UNGA. “It may be due to the internal political situation but it seems the foreign minister is not working proactively since assuming the office,” he says. Khadka refused to attend, citing the looming elections. But this is not the first time he has passed on the chance to represent Nepal at the global stage. Back in April, he had refused to attend the Raisina Dialogue organized by Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi. A source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says Khadka is not comfortable visiting foreign countries, particularly if that meant participating in international programs. He has not shown interest in the works of the ministry as well. He has been known to delegate his duties to others. The source at the ministry says Khadka keeps visiting his electoral constituency in Udayapur, ignoring his ministerial responsibilities. Ever since his appointment, he has barely agreed for an interview with the press. There has been no prime ministerial-level participation from Nepal in the annual UN gathering of member countries since 2018. That year, KP Sharma Oli led the Nepali delegation to the UN headquarters. In 2019, the UNGA was attended by then foreign minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, and in 2020 and 2021, Nepal’s prime ministers had virtually addressed the event.  

Survivors of rape and sexual violence in Dhanusha district are compelled to wait for year on end to get justice from the court of law. Concerned family members and survivors say the District Court, Dhanusha, doesn’t give due priority to their cases despite their repeated pleas. A case in point is the incident in which two sisters, both of the underage, were drugged and raped in Chhireshwarnath Municipality. It took the court nearly four years to hand down its conviction against the perpetrator. That period between the incident and the sentencing was harrowing for the two girls and their parents. The family was not just burdened by debt while fighting the case, they were also constantly threatened and pressured by the community members not to drop the charges and agree to an out-of-court settlement. “The situation in the village reached to the point where we could no longer live there,” the girls’ father tells ApEx over the phone. The family moved to Kathmandu to fight the case and start anew. After moving to the Capital city, the girls’ father started working menial jobs to raise his family. Every now and again, he traveled to Dhanusha for the case hearing. “I cannot describe how much I had to go through to bring this culprit, who ruined the lives of my daughters and my family, to justice,” he says. “At one point, I had thought about giving up because the court was too slow to act. My family was saddled with debt. The only thing that kept him going was my two little daughters.” The case was presented for hearing 31 times before the perpetrator was sentenced to 12 years in prison and ordered to pay Rs 500,000 in compensation. There are scores of cases concerning rape and sexual violence awaiting hearing in Dhanusha. The court records show 92 cases, some of them from three years back, are still under judicial consideration. Bikash Basnet, the district court registrar, says the process of justice delivery has slowed down, as the judges are overwhelmed by cases. “One judge has to decide on over 1,100 cases. Still, we try to prioritize serious cases like rape and sexual violence against girls and women,” says Basnet. He claims that the court has formed a separate department to look into and prioritize pending cases. “We will soon start fast-tracking the cases based on their priority,” he adds. Data at the Madhes Province Police shows 734 rape cases and 217 cases of molestation and sexual violence and were reported in eight districts of the province in the past three years. Advocate Rekha Jha believes the situation of sexual crime in Dhanusha and other districts in Madhes province is far worse than what the records show. “We know and we have seen how when there is a rape incident, there are efforts to hush-up the case, how community members and neighbors try to pressure the victim to keep silence,” says Jha. “This practice is still common, particularly when the perpetrators are related or know the victims.” She adds the stigma surrounding rape and sexual assault encourages the culture of keeping the crime a secret, or negotiating out-of-court settlement. “Survivors of rape and sexual assaults rarely go to the authorities themselves,” she says. “And when they do, our justice system delays the hearing, driving them and their families to mental and financial distress.”

India, China and the US have stepped up their engagements with Nepal in recent months. There has been a series of diplomatic exchanges and visits to and from these countries, which some foreign affairs experts say is unprecedented.  But these are unprecedented times. China-US rivalry for global supremacy is at an all-time high. India, meanwhile, has its own set of security and economic concerns as its influence in South Asia, its old stomping ground, is fast waning due to China’s aggressive economic diplomacy.   Nepal is in a tight spot as it seeks to maintain a balanced relations with India, China and the US all at the same time, says Arun Subedi, foreign affairs advisor to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba “China’s expectations, for instance, have gone up recently. It is seeking our support in the South China Sea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and other issues,” he says.  Recently, China’s top legislature Li Zhanshu spent four days in Nepal. During his stay, he met with Nepali leaders and discussed a wide range of issues.  China’s concern that Nepal is tilting towards the West, particularly under the current leadership of the Nepali Congress, is no secret. It is also obvious that Beijing wants to implant a strong foothold in Kathmandu. One of his key agendas of Li’s recent visit was inking an agreement that allows cooperation between Nepal’s parliament and China’s National People’s Congress, a rubber stamp parliament of China.  From the Nepali leaders, the top Chinese leader got the oft-repeated reassurance that they are committed to ‘One China’ policy, that they won’t allow Nepali soil to be used for any anti-China activities. Soon after Li’s visit, Chinese state media Xinhua reported that Nepal supports China’s position on Taiwan and Xinjiang.  “He [Li] thanked the Nepalese side for unswervingly adhering to the One-China principle, and supporting China's position on the Taiwan question and issues concerning Tibet, Xinjiang and human rights,” wrote Xinhua. The Deuba government is reportedly unhappy with what was reported by the Chinese media, for it has the potential of causing rifts with India and the US.    Earlier, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi had written an article stating that Nepal actively supports the Global Development Initiative and China’s Global Security Initiatives. Then, too, the Nepal government was put ill at ease.  But on both occasions, the government made no effort to clarify the matter.  Deuba’s foreign affairs advisor Subedi, who is known to be critical of Chinese policies, is of the view that Nepal should revisit its long-standing non-alignment policy to get out from the current diplomatic tangle involving multiple parties. Foreign policy experts say for Kathmandu, maintaining a balanced ties with the US and China has become more of a demanding job than between India and China in recent times.   The dust-up between Beijing and Washington over whether Nepal should or should not join the US-sponsored Millennium Corporation Challenge and State Partnership Program show how deep Kathmandu is caught up in the geopolitical rivalry of these two giants. Amid growing tensions between China and US, India too has stepped up its engagements with Nepal and other South Asian countries, like Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lanka, to retain its traditional sphere of influence.  Time and again, India has voiced its concern regarding China’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative, warning that it is a debt trap diplomacy that upended Sri Lanka’s economy.  All the while Nepal’s leadership is caught in a paralyzing indecision on matters vital to the country’s foreign policy. One of the major reasons for this indecision is the divergent views, ideology and priority within the ruling five-party coalition.  The Nepali Congress has historically supported India and the West. The CPN (Maoist Center), on the other hand, is more inclined towards China. Political analysts say you get indecisive when parties with diametrically opposite ideologies are placed in the governing seat. If this situation persists, they say future projects by big countries in Nepal can easily plunge into a controversy.  Rajan Bhattarai, foreign affairs advisor to former prime minister KP Sharma Oli, blames the current government for failing to maintain a balanced relationship with China, India and the US.  “This government has taken the approach of appeasing one power at the cost of antagonizing the other,” he says. “If we do not correct the course, the balance will tip irrevocably.”   A source at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers says the government has been facing increasing pressures from Beijing, New Delhi and Washington.   “They are taking the liberty of issuing press statements saying that Nepal supports some specific agendas or projects.” The source adds like India did in the past, now China and the US are trying to dictate how Nepal should conduct its foreign policy.   Experts on political affairs and foreign relations say Nepali leadership should stop giving into diplomatic arm-twisting by the forign powers and come up with a clear roadmap to engage with them.    Don McLain Gill,  a Philippines-based geopolitical analyst and author specializing in Indo-Pacific affairs, says small states must be able to provide major powers with a less ambiguous roadmap of engagement without fearing the loss of support from either state. “This does not mean that small states should seek to disturb the balance. Rather, they should aim to maintain the status quo without further exacerbating the balance of power,” he says. “This will provide them with a more conducive environment for growth, development, and security.”   In the era of great power competition, they say smaller countries like Nepal, there is not much that small countries can do, says Zhiqun Zhu, professor of political science and international relations as well as the inaugural director of the China Institute, at Bucknell University, US. “The best strategy for small countries in South Asia and elsewhere is perhaps to focus on domestic development and not get involved in the great power rivalry.”  And if some small countries prefer to be more vocal, he says: “Perhaps, they can learn from Singapore and tell the two great powers to not force them to choose sides and resolve their differences peacefully.”

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is one of my absolute favorite authors. I’ve read many of her books like ‘The Mistress of Spices’, ‘Sister of my Heart’, ‘Palace of Illusions’, ‘Oleander Girl’ and ‘One Amazing Thing’ among others. I’ve loved them all. I would be hard-pressed to pick a favorite. Her short story collection, ‘Arranged Marriage’, is easily one of the best books I’ve read till date. Her works are set in India and the United States and are mostly stories of South Asian immigrants. She writes across genres—realistic fiction, historical fiction, magical realism, and fantasy. And she does it all with equal flair. Her latest book, ‘The Last Queen’ is a well-researched retelling of Punjab’s history before the British invasion as well as the story of Rani Jindan Kaur, the youngest wife of the first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, Ranjit Singh. Historically speaking, Rani Jindan Kaur is lesser known than say Rani Laxmi Bai or Padmavati. But, during her time, she was famous for her beauty, strength and courage. She became the Queen Regent when her son was crowned at the age of five, following the assassinations of three successors before him. She was replaced after Punjab lost the Anglo-Sikh war but her power and influence continued and, infuriated by it, the British imprisoned and exiled her. The Last Queen is part true, part not, and Divakaruni does a wonderful job of telling a gripping story where the lines between fact and fiction are blurred. The story opens at the death bed of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Jindan is watching him from the foot of the bed. The story then goes back in time to tell us how she got there. It was never Jindan’s ambition to become rich and powerful but she got there by following her heart. She fell in love with a man who turned out to be the king of Punjab. The novel is split into four sections: Girl, Bride, Queen, and Rebel. We see Jindan’s grow and transition from a meek daughter of a dog-trainer to a king’s wife and then ultimately a much-feared and loved queen. The novel picks up pace really fast, falters a little in the middle, and then wraps up nice and neat in the end. I love Divakaruni’s writing style. It’s simple but smooth. There are lines I could read over and over again. Her character and setting descriptions help you clearly conjure the scenes in your head. Not all authors are able to get the story, setting and characters right but Divakaruni manages this feat with ease. The result is a poignant story of love and leadership that will haunt you long after you’ve turned the final page. Four stars Fiction The Last Queen Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Published: 2021 Publisher: Harper Collins Pages: 354, Paperback