Kathmandu, September 29:

The case of Colonel JP Cross, who has spent 61 years in Nepal with a hope of becoming a Nepali citizen, has proved that Nepali bureaucracy is ‘slow and complex’. He renounced British citizenship in order to become a Nepali three years ago. However, his case is still under consideration of authorities. “Colonel Cross gave up his British citizenship to get a Nepali one, but the case is pending for three years,” said Dr Harka Gurung, who chaired a function organised to launch “The Restless Quest”, a book written by Colonel Cross.

According to the Constitution, a foreigner can acquire Nepali citizenship if: he can speak and write the Nepali language; is engaged in any occupation in Nepal; has renounced his citizenship of another country; and has resided in Nepal for at least 15 years. Colonel Cross meets all these criteria. The Restless Quest — launched by the British ambassador to Nepal Keith Bloomfield — is a historical novel set between 1746 and 1815 in Nepal and India and is about Britain-Nepal conflict and the life of a protagonist, a Nepali legendary hero Bhakti Thapa and others.