In my post of 11th June I described Minister for Forest and Soil Conservation Matrika Prasad Yadav as being "controversial"; perhaps in the light of the latest news this was rather an uncharacteristic understatement on my part. For Yadav is now at the centre of a storm of protest.
The problem began a few days ago when Yadav locked Lalitpur Local Development Officer Dandu Raj Ghimire in a Ministry toilet for one and a half hours. One might suspect that this bizarre behaviour could be a consequence of this Maoist minister still feeling flushed with his party's success in the recent elections. However in reality it was in response to Ghimire allowing an illegal quarry to continue to operate in a forest area in spite of a ban on the activity being imposed by Yadav. Ghimire has taken exception to the Minister's unorthodox action and civil servants have been on strike in his support, protesting Yadav's behaviour that has been described by some as being "harsh and unbecoming", by others as "inhuman and unlawful". The protestors have demanded a public apology (a popular outcry in this part of the world) or worse protests will follow. A defiant Yadav has responded by declaring that a toilet was the only right place for "corrupt and anti-environment persons".
I do have to wonder if a large part of the indignation is due to Yadav being an ethnic Indian (Madhesi) having had the temerity to humiliate a true blue ethnic Nepali (and a Brahmin to boot) like Ghimire - the protesting civil servants will be by and large themselves also be ethnic Nepalis. I could never condone the denial of someone's freedom without the involvement of the police, but in Yadav's defence at least the unfortunate Ghimire's detention was not entirely "inhuman" as at it didn't risk putting him in a tight spot in respect of a call of nature. And it has inspired me to propose a totally original solution to the problem of Nepal's widespread corruption...
Build bigger toilets.
