Professor’s dilemma:

I agree with Professor Pyakuryal that one should make a proper comparison of any event on the basis of its impact on real life situation but not quite with his analysis of Nepal’s HDI made public on September 15. It appears to be an intellectual dilemma facing Nepal. While Pyakuryal said that Nepal performed better than Pakistan in health expenditure, primary enrolment and annual growth, it is still a step behind Pakistan in HDI rank. How does he justify that? He also strongly suggested analysing the supplementary indicators to present HDI ranking but failed to explain what these are, and rather digressed from the topic to cover the law and order situation in Nepal. What is the professor trying to prove?

Siddha Raj Pant, Kathmandu

Grab it:

Nepal has turned out to be a chaotic place. Corruption and irresponsible behaviour of the people in higher posts are to blame for our sorry state of affairs. The recent declaration of unilateral truce by the Maoists has brought a ray of hope. This should be taken as an opportunity for restoring peace and all the agitating parties should welcome it. It is high time the authorities concerned came together to solve the problem once and for all. They should not let this opportunity go in vain.

Paras M Pageni, via e-mail

Peace first:

At present, the desire of all Nepalis is peace. When the King is in favour of peace, political parties, student leaders and even the poets are agitating against the government. Some of them favour a republican set-up. This proves that they are against the people’s desire for peace. How can we trust these leaders who have failed to deliver goods in the past 12 years? Even if Nepal were to become a republic, these leaders would be unlikely to change their ways. How would the country prosper in such a situation? These people must first help the government in maintaining peace, only then should they demand the restoration of the democratic process.

Rabindra Shrestha, via e-mail

Delay:

Tribhuvan University usually takes a lot of time to publish IA results. This creates difficulties for the students. The results of the IA exams held during May-June 2005 have not yet been published. Who is responsible for the delay? The authorities should be answerable to the students.

Dasrath Raj, via e-mail

Modelling:

A perfect model is one who is educated, talented, has good looks and a very attractive personality. Moreover, he or she should have the confidence to face any type of crowd. A model should be an ideal for viewers. These days modelling is being regarded as a prestigious profession worldwide. In India, there are models turned actors like Aishwarya Rai, Bipasha Basu, John Abhram and others who have become very successful. But in Nepal, people look down upon models. The mindset is so negative that even in the 21st century we have not been able to advance in the field of fashion and modelling. People need to get out of narrow-mindedness and accept modelling as a decent career.

Abhiany Jayaswal, via e-mail