Nepal was declared a federal democratic republic after 60 years of struggle. The aim of declaring the country a federal democratic republic was to bring about prosperity and peace in the country through good governance and inclusion of all communities. We, however, need to think over the negative consequences of federalism as we are going to practise it without any experience and expertise. There are some countries in the world where unified nations have split when they decided to go for federalism. The public opinion being collected by the Constituent Assembly on the first draft of the constitution seems that people are doubtful about the sustainability of the federalism. Common understanding of a large section of society is closer to reality than any views expressed by experts who put forth their views based on their own understanding and situation. The feedback received from the people should not be taken just for the sake of formality; their genuine opinion should be taken into consideration and included in the final draft of the new constitution. If their opinion is not included in the final draft, the people will not trust the parties they chose to represent them.

Nirajan Mainali, Kalanki

Honour Apropos of the news story “Pluto’s mountains named after Tenzing Norgay Sherpa” (THT, July 19, Page 1), NASA has bestowed a great honour upon our national hero, Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, by naming mountains in distant Pluto after him. We should be thankful to NASA and indebted to Tenzing for our presence in the galaxy. It is our turn now to show gratitude to this great man by naming some place in his name. Most of the institutes, parks, public places, research centres and many other things are named only after the names of ruling political parties’ leaders. Why cannot we think of naming the new institutions in the names of those famous people who have contributed a lot to mankind? We must rise above partisan interest and do justice to those apolitical people whom the entire nation honour with great respect

J. Talchabhadell, Bhaktapur

It is a matter of pride that Pluto’s mountains have been named after the world-famous Nepalese mountaineer Tenzing Norgay Sherpa. Nepal should celebrate because he was the first man to reach the top of Mt. Everest, the highest peak in the world, for the first time with Edmund Hillary on May 29, 1953. NASA, the organization belonging to the United States, honoured Sherpa by naming the mountains of the Pluto, which is smaller than the earth’s moon, after his name. Time has come for the Government of Nepal to give this matter high emphasis. As a matter of fact, this has given a huge respite to the people of Nepal who are still not away from the nightmare of the April 25 earthquake.

Pratik Shrestha, Kathmandu