Kathmandu, November 17, 2005

A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed at the Supreme Court today, seeking the apex court’s order to government including the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs to promulgate a law to criminalise caste discrimination. Accusing the current legal provision of having failed to punish the accused even after abolishing caste-based discrimination, the petitioner sough another specific and effective law to effectively abolish caste discrimination. According to the petitioner, the Adalko Mahal Chapter of Muluki Ain 2020 BS abolished caste-based discrimination 42 years ago but it has failed to curb inhuman behaviour. The petitioner, Sukalal Nepali, filed the petition seeking the SC’s mandamus order to the government to promulgate a specific law on the issue. The petitioner also said that due to caste-based discrimination the lower caste people are facing problems, to the extent that they find it difficult to even get lodgings on rent in cities. “The socalled upper class people still do not want to let out lodgings to the lower caste people. There is an urgent need to promulgate a law to make such things punishable,” he added. The petitioner said local authorities, including District Development Committees, Municipalities and Village Development Committees should have the power to monitor such behaviour if people commit such social crimes.

Experts flay language used in ads

Kathmandu, November 17, 2005

Experts have expressed their concern over the quality of language used in advertisements published through media in Nepal. Many of the advertisements brought from other countries and dubbed or translated to Nepali language, targeting the Nepali market, have had an adverse impact over the local language here, they said.

Addressing an interaction on ‘Language Used in Advertisements’ at the Martin Chautari, here today, Rajendra Shalav, an advertisement professional, said sub-standard dubbing or translation of imported ads have used low quality language causing adverse impact on the language itself.

“The language used in Nepali ads is getting worse. Newer foreign words are being used and many times such words change the meaning of the existing Nepali words or replace them,” he said. Many ads have created words or phrases, which have no grammatical coherence, or logical meaning and this might compel our lexicographers to make new entries in the Nepali dictionary.

Indian government does not allow any foreign ads be published or aired and in Bangladesh at least 70 per cent of the ads should have local inputs, but this is not the case in Nepal, he said, stressing the need to set up a law to prohibit foreign advertisements.