Forget Kathmandu : an elegy for democracy

In June 2001, King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Was Killed In A Massacre At Kathmandu S Narayanhiti Royal Palace, Allegedly By His Own Son, The Crown Prince, And The World Took New Notice Of Nepal. Since Then, Several Thousand Lives Have Been Lost To A Violent Maoist Insurgency And Repressive State Counter-Insurgency. Parliamentary Democracy, Too Won Late, In 1990 Has Been Lost. And There Are No Clear Indications Of How Long It Will Be Before The Civil War Ends And Popular Government Is Restored. In This Illuminating Study Of The Tangled Politics Of Her Country, Manjushree Thapa Examines What Has Gone Wrong, And Why. Starting With An Account Of The Narayanhiti Massacre And Its Aftermath, She Goes Back In Time To Trace The History, Often Chaotic, Of Nepal S Monarchy Since Unification In The 18Th Century, And Of The Struggle, In The 20Th Century, For Genuine Democracy. She Ends With A Record Of Her Trek Into Maoist-Held Territories In West Nepal, Where The Majority Continue To Live In Poverty, Human Rights Abuses Are On The Rise, And Boys And Girls As Young As Thirteen Have Taken To The Gun. A Skilful Mix Of History, Reportage, Memoir And Travel Writing, Forget Kathmandu Is An Unprecedented Examination Of Nepal S Past And Present. The Gifts Of Insight And Lucidity That Thapa Brings To Her Intensely Political Narrative Make This One Of The Finest Works Of Non-Fiction From The Subcontinent In Recent Times. Praise For Forget Kathmandu Forget Kathmandu Is . . . Part Memoir Drawn From Living Through The Recent Turmoil, Part History Of The Royal Family, Part Reportage On A Trip Ms Thapa Made To Areas Controlled By Maoist Rebels, And Partly Also A Reflection On What Has Gone So Desperately Wrong With Her Country. It Is Probably The Best, And Certainly The Most Readable, Single-Volume Attempt To Address That Last Question The Economist Thapa S Investigation Is Deeply Moving And Very Funny, Much Like Nepal Itself Newsweek Manjushree Thapa Is The Best Kind Of Chronicler Because She Breaks Down Conventional Modes Of How History Should Be Recorded: She Acts, By Turns, As Reporter, Activist, Analyst And Archivist, Employing The Techniques Of Each Discipline . . . Thapa Is Both Passionately Involved And Coolly Sardonic Business Standard [Forget Kathmandu] Is At Once Informed By An Intense Political Passion, A Strong Historical Sense, A Profound Insight Into The Inner Dynamics Of A Nation And Is Yet Accessible To All . . . A Must-Read Financial Express Fast-Paced, Hard To Put Down, Written With Style And Sophistication, Also Honesty And Emotion . . . A Must-Read Outlook A Must Read . . . It S Reminiscent Of The Late Great W.G. Sebald S Non-Fiction As An Engaging Detective Story; A Good Template For Non-Academic Studies From A Modern Conflict Zone Hindustan Times Thapa Gives A Splendid Brief History Of Nepal . . . Her Analysis Is Astute And Her Observations Often Wry And Illuminating Indian Express It Is At Once A Celebration Of The Power Of The Literary Monologue And A Cry Of Outrage At The Reality In Which The Present Nepali State And Society Are Trapped Nepali Times