Sandesh Ghimire

Kathmandu, NEPAL


Joined March 7th 2010

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I am a writer, editor, proofreader, content writer, instructor, and translator

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September 25th 2010 18:28
Corporate identity
The external personality that the companies create so as to distinguish themselves from others is corporate identity. A blend of looks, communication tools and designs, it indeed is the public image that companies have. Companies spend hefty amount of money to create corporate identity. A wrong selection, a huge market share gone. But we look after this serious business, catering you to create logo, communication system and ethics.
Logo is the meat of company branding, and helps the company gain a recognizable image. What is a recognizable image? A blend of color, general look and a feel across the product family makes your product recognizable. We, at Lins, put every effort to create a distinct corporate image for you. We provide you with powerful look and feel so that consumers will recognize your product. In the process, we pay high attention to consistency because we believe inconsistent branding might lost a tremendous share of your market. We also take care of another facet of corporate identity, communication. Communication system which includes advertisements, press releases, news features and phone services should be uniform as well as consistent. We, at Lins, focus on giving you a consistent and uniform communication system to strengthen your corporate identity.
When we talk about corporate identity, we cannot miss corporate behavior and ethics, which create your social image. Consumers are always interested in how the companies behave and where the companies socially stand. So having a specific image is very important because publicly scrutinized members of the corporation are also generally expected to behave impeccably, ensuring the consumers think of the company in a good light. We help you present you a consumer-friendly social image.
Portfolio
If you wish to understand what we can do for you, we humbly recommend that you start understanding what we have done for others. We are proud to have worked with/for the following organizations and business houses all over the world. This, we believe, these names are testament to our proven capabilities and strategic approach. Check out our web, identity and print projects.
OUR LATEST PROJECTS
Projects we are working on

WEBSITE OUTSOURCING
We work with a network of Website Developers, Programmers, Graphic Designers, Project Managers and Information Technology Professionals. So we claim that we master in website outsourcing.
A global service provider to the global clients, a Nepal based Offshore Outsourcing Company; Lins specialize in catering to you in providing Offshore Website Design & Web Application Development services to individual clients and Other IT companies globally. Located in Maharajgung, we pioneer in the development of Content Management System (CMS), Ecommerce portal, shopping cart solution, Custom Web applications, Website Design and Search Engine Optimization.
Why is outsourcing important?
Outsourcing is important because it
- helps lessen operating cost and project overheads
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- Avails the skilled professionals and infrastructure as per your projects
- accomplishes the projects in time, within budget
Lins offers:
We offer you a wide range of time-bound and budget-bound custom IT programming services as we specialize in the development of Ecommerce solution, Content Management System, Custom Web applications, Web design & Search Engine Optimization.

WEBSITE OPTIMIZATION
Both broadband and dial-up users have different expectations. Considering this, we create websites that suit the clients desired level of accessibility and target market. We also make "light" websites which don’t compromise the design and appeal factors though. We particularly focus on the following to ensure an optimized website.
Cross-browser compatibility (CBC)
CBC is the way of giving highest visibility to your website, ensuring that people who log onto your web site actually see things the way you expect them to see regardless of the browser and platform they are using.
Site enhancement
We will exert a series of tests to assess the following:
1. Make sure that the entire inside and outside links are always active.
2. Enhance download speed for the various accessibility levels –ranging from Dial-up to broadband.
Information Architecture
We create the information architecture which ensures that unfamiliar users or users looking for specific information are able to transact easily on both their first and subsequent visits. For this we provide you with consistent layout, design, functionality, speed and logic of the site.
Search Engine Optimization
We also help your website gain the highest rank in the results of a search engine. For this, we look after various factors such as the content and structure of the web site's copy and page layout, the HTML meta-tags and the submission process.

STATIC & DYNAMIC WEBSITE DESIGN
At Lins, we center our focus on visual appeal which lures the clients to visit your website now and again. As we focus on providing you the best possible website, we follow strict guidelines which abide by guidelines set forth by the World Wide Web Consortium and The Web Standards Project. This will give you usable, effective and aesthetically pleasing websites which are viewable on all browsers (FireFox, IE, Opera, etc..) and on all operating platforms (Windows & Mac).
Website design should not be mistaken for simply placing your company's brochure online since it, more importantly, means helping you to create and mold the clients’ vision into something useful and pleasing. The websites designed by Lins help people accomplish the goals they set out to achieve when drafting their business plans. Our company listens to and understands the objectives of our clients and shapes the websites accordingly. We are a successful company because we have stood the test of our clients.
We follow the following system to bring about what you want.
a. Defining the Scope
We interact with our clients to gather initial information, explore and evaluate what they want, what the business needs are, and what the brand objectives are in this phase.
b. Planning the Project
We extensively plan the project here and sort out the ways to bring about the desired results.
c. Design and Testing
In this phase, we not only develop and construct the product but also create layout and design and content. Eventually we test the product.
d. Production and Implementation
In this phase we merge the content with the designed layout. And then we test the product to ensure that the product performs at its highest level. We also involve clients to know if any modifications are needed. All the final pieces are put into place prior to acceptance and launch.
e. Delivery
We deliver the product only after handing discussing with the clients. This process includes (a) Handover meeting. (b) Discussion on the final product of the website.
f. Maintenance and Updates
Our focus is always on giving maximum satisfaction to our clients. So we will always remain equipped to help you with updates and addition of new features.
WEB HOSTING
If you are in the quest of a trustworthy web hosting company in Nepal, Lins should only be your choice. We not only provide you the best support and uptime but also serve you as a Reliable, Professional and Affordable web hosting service provider in Nepal. Our services include a variety of web hosting plans that live up to your unique needs. Meanwhile we claim that our website hosting packages are the most advanced features available in the industry to make your web hosting as easy and hassle free as possible.
We say this because
• We provide 24/7 technical support and 99% uptime guarantee
• We provide Great service and affordable prices
• We help you in Easy site administration with web-based control panel

We say this because we provide you with the feature-packed hosting services for your business, e-commerce and personal web hosting needs while offering optimal support, network availability, latest technology and value with every plan.

Services ranges

• Business & eCommerce Hosting Plan
• Personal Website Hosting Plan

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO)
The technique by which websites are promoted to the top of SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages) is called search engine optimization. With the only objective generating enough volume and quality of traffic (i.e. number of visitors) from Search Engines via SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages), search engine optimization is said be the best cost-effective alternative among all forms of marketing which is prevalent today. As millions of searches are performed on the Internet every day, with many of which targeted at exactly what you are intending to sell, SEO plays an instrumental role in promoting your website and eventually your products.
We are trusted and dedicated name in search engine optimization in Nepal and abroad, because we know all the inns and outs of it and are also adroit at handling them. Our insight into how the algorithms and web-spiders of various search engines function is what has made us a market leader. Besides, out researches and analyses are able to deliver results in consistent manner and that is the only reason we feel so confident and optimistic about our SEO services. We always apply our understanding or SEO practices to the best of our ability to assist you in achieving success in your business sectors. In addition, we also have search engine friendly web design methodologies and Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising campaigns. It is estimated 82 % online shoppers know exactly what they want when they log on to the Internet, and almost half of them use search engines to find solutions and vendors. It is understandable, thus, how critical SEO is. With us, you won’t have any trouble! The advanced search engine optimization abilities the tools, and methodologies we use will enable you to generate new business, at affordable cost since we not only push your websites forward to get high rankings in one or two of the search engines for our clients, but also promote it in most of the other search engines around the globe. On the top, we provide our SEO services for multiple search engines.
We work out on the following processes to enhance SEO effectiveness.
Keyword Analysis
We strike to the key words that are in vogue and that people insert while making a search. This is an important component for any well-executed search engine positioning campaign. We identify the proper keywords, fit for your business to ensure that the most qualified users will find the specific pages within your site that are relevant to their specific search query.
Competitive Analysis
We analyze your strength and compare it with that of your competitors so as to size up your competition, and then provide you with the tools necessary to achieve and maintain your rightful position at the top of the search engines. You will be able to reap competitive advantages needed to outperform your competitors on the search engines and gain valuable market share in a jiffy.
Content Enhancement
As the title itself suggests, content enhancement comprises of the modification of Website content. It also involves making recommendations to manipulate the current placement of existing content, add/edit new content, or even remove existing content in certain circumstances so that the website has higher visibility. To meet this end, we focus process to achieve prominent placement for the right keywords rather than tricking the search engines. Thus we are supposed to ensure that the appropriate keywords are incorporated into your website correctly.
Code Enhancement
It is significant that you make your Website search engine friendly. However complex and efficient search engines seem to be, they are not always efficient enough to read all content that the web browsers display. While flash, Java script, DHTML, and framing technologies may look great to this end user, they can also stop a search engine spider dead in its tracks apart from prohibiting your Website from being crawled effectively. We specially focus on specific code to determine the content within a web page with the help of Title, H1 and Meta tags.
Link Enhancement
The search engine will try to gauge the relative importance of your site only after you have geared the content within your site towards the appropriate keywords, and search engine spiders have effectively started navigating your site. Now you get a “Page Rank” in Google terminology. A page rank determines how qualified your site is.
Search engines that are based on relevancy use linking to determine the relative credibility of one site versus another with respect to subject matter and content correspondence. "Link Popularity" and "Page Rank" common to SEO refer to the existence of external links from sites corresponding to yours. Hence, these links have substantial impact on your ability to obtain and uphold the visible positioning for the keywords you long.
Code Implementation
Implementation of codes will be exerted only after you have completed the content, code, and link enhancement processes
Web Page and Directory Submission
The ultimate step in the search engine optimization process is to ensure that all the newly optimized pages are included in the indexes of all the relevant search engines. Directory submission requires both effective copy writing and a comprehensive understanding of the search engines.
List of Major Search Engines
AOLAnywhere, AltaVista, Ask Jeeves, BigBook, Cyber411, EiNet Galaxy, Eureka, EuroPages, Excite, Global Online Directory, Go.com, Google, GoTo.com, HotBot, Looksmart, Lycos, Mamma, Mirago, Nerd World, Northern Light, Open Directory Project, OpenText, Planet Search, Profusion, SavvySearch, Search.COM, Scoot, SearchFound, Snap, Starting Point, The European Directory, The Informant, The Nell Register, The Ultimate Homepage Index, Thunderstone, UK Directory, UK Index, USA Today, WebCrawler, Webtop, What-U-Seek, Yahoo, Yell, Yellow Web
OTHER SERVICES
We cater to you in the following dimension, with our services ranging from consultation to print.

a. Management and Consultation

In this section, we serve you in Project Management, Website Consulting and Requirement Analysis.


b. Web services

We provide you the web services that include Use of Web Standards, Web Content Management Systems, Interface Design, Website Redesign, Database Solutions, Markup and CSS Optimization, Domain Name Registrations and Management, Hosting, Email and Database setups, Website Optimization, Search Engine Optimization, Offshore Outsourcing

c. Corporate Identity

We help you create your corporate identity with our Logo Design and Corporate Branding Style Guides

d. Print
The printing services we provide are Business Card Design CD Cover Design, Stationary Design, Brochure, Newsletter

Graphic Design in Nepal
Lins, operating in the state-of-art technologies, ushers in a graphic design, logo design, corporate identity, business card, brochure design. We have the professionals who are known for their creativity and abilities to live up to your expectations. So we say that we assist businesses by providing creative and effective graphic design and identity building marketing systems. Our motto is to provide our clients the highest quality graphic design and cutting edge corporate identity solutions available till date.
We design graphics which include Ad Design, Book Cover Design, Book Layout Design, Brochure Design, Business Card Design, Flyer Layout, Flyer / Poster Design, High End Graphic Design, Logo Design and Newsletter Layout.
DOMAIN REGISTRATION
Through Domain Registration you get an individual website for your company or yourself. Once you have registered your domain, it becomes your for the contracted period of time, usually for a year. You must renew it before it expires, and if not, it gets back to be on sale. Similarly, a domain name is something like a company’s name. So you have to have a domain name before you register your website. Selection of a domain name might be tenuous.
However, with us, you will feel easy to find the name, correcting addressing to the features of your company. Even if there are a lot of companies which are offering cheap name registration, we urge you to beware before registering your name with these providers. You should also note that there should be your domain registrant administrative contact, not the vendor’s in the domain name registration process.
We cater Domain Name Registration services in Nepal at very low price. Meanwhile, we also guarantee you that you will get the access to your website hosting and email within hour after you have paid for the domain name registration and web hosting. You can then immediately upload your website and start creating your POP3 account while being able to send email from the Outlook / Outlook Express. This is what makes us distinct in the market.
We deal in the domain name with the extension of .com, .org, .biz, .info, .net etc. We also register .np domain for free.


CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CMS)
Content management system (CMS) is used to organize, categorize, and structure the information resources (text, images, documents etc) for storage, publishing and editing online. A content management system (CMS) is simply able to empower you to manage your website without the need for additional software and programming expertise.
Why CMS?
CMS is recommended because it is simple and easy to have a total control over when, where, and what happens on a website. Meanwhile, because CMS is reliable, flexible, easy and efficient, it is used by many organizations.
27
Vote
   


Modal of federalism in Nepal

March 27th 2010 09:44
the people
they voted for federalism

Framework for Federalism & National Integrity

Amidst mass fanaticism and aspiration, Nepal, free of de facto monarchy and after months of successful resurrection lodged against despotic and feudal monarchial governance, is on the verge of state restructuring. While there has been qualm about the essence and vitality of the radically would-be movement from a few circles of the nation, the majority is looking forward to reengineering the unjust politico-economic system that has been oppressing the people. The restructuring will thus not only be a vital tool to instutionalize the hard-earned achievement but also prove to be a platform that accommodates all the citizens of the country. It has been commonly expected that the only way to make the country amenable to people’s aspiration is to federalize it, that is, subdivide the territory in such a way that the right of self-determination will be retained by the states within the nation without upsetting the national interest.
Federalism, which once bore the meat of mass aspiration and seemed to become a mere cliché in the later part of Nepalese political history has again been enlivened as the country is nearing the epoch when the lawmakers will resolutely sit to draft the new constitution. The new constitution is expected to be able to delineate the future feats of Nepal and its denizens, with its rudimentary emphasis on federalism. Even if insuperably in vogue, the term federalism, however, is still vogue and befuddling primarily because the interpreters have not defined it unanimously. This has resulted in mass dilemma as to the meaning of federalism. For general understanding, the term federalism should be understood as a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units (like states or provinces). To elaborate it, federalism is a system in which the power to govern is shared between national and (state) governments, creating what is often called a federation. Thus, federalism is primarily concerned with dividing the sovereignty and ruling competence among self-governing states or regions and federal government united by the later.

Overview of federalism

Federalism’s increasing importance
Federalism is said to be very important since more than 40% of the world’s people live under federal government setups in more than 25 federations. This number is surging up gradually. There are broadly two types of federation prevalent in the world namely ‘Federations from coming together of separate units’ led by Canada, United States, Australia and ‘Federations from “coming apart” of unitary states led by Belgium, Ethiopia, Spain, United Kingdom. It is equally noteworthy that federalism has also proved to be a boon to resolve the conflict and provide a conducive environment to the conflict-inflicted countries like Bosnia, Iraq and Sudan. On the top if everything, it can also be proposed to resolve post-conflict environment of Nepal.

Common Features of Federations
There are two orders of government operating viz. national government for the entire country and territorially defined governments for the regions. Similarly, there will be the presence of a written constitution which allocates legislative & fiscal powers to both orders of government. The constitution bestows on each level of government a special access to exercising legislative & executive powers. Thus, each level of government has independent relationship with electorate, that is federal legislature & executive may or may not entirely chosen by regions. On the other hand, the constitutional provisions on federalism are not amenable to amendment without substantial consent from constituent units as well as the central government. Moreover, the institutions or representation of regional views are prioritized within the central government, with the focus on inclusiveness of the regime, guarded by the umpire or procedure consisting courts or referendums or an upper house to resolve constitutional disputes between governments. In the similar fashion, the will be processes and institutions focusing on facilitating or conducting relations between governments.

Federation vs. Confederation
There seems to be confusion regarding the federation and confederation. But In fact, they are different for the following reasons.
In confederation, the central government does not possess any independent constitutional authority, and thus derives powers from constituent units like in the USA and Switzerland while the central government is appointed by constituent units. Thus a confederation is said to be weak and unstable.
On the other hand, in Federation, federal government derives power from constitution, aside from being able to direct relationship with electorate.

Federation vs. Decentralization
These two words have almost exclusively been used synonymously in Nepalese politics as many political parties argue that division made in the Panchayat regime is the perfect model. But decentralization will still focus on unitary states like in the U.K. because the Central government creates, and delegates power to, regional authorities. Meanwhile, the regional governments can be directly elected and can be abolished or their powers can be modified through ordinary legislation in spite of having substantial responsibilities. In contrast, in federation, regional authorities derive status & powers from constitution, which cannot be amended by federal government with simple majority in legislature.

What is Federalism for?
This is the biggest debate the Nepalese masses seem to indulge in. some doubt federalism divides the country permanently while many other find it as a platform that ensures the manifestation of Nepalese aspirations, for the latter argue that federalism convolute, deconcentrate, decentralize power, and ultimately everyone will have an access to the national politics.
The proponents of federal state are in the right not only because democratic rationales are inherent in it while making a conducive environment for general populace to participate in democratic politics in smaller communities but also because it ensures accountability. Regional government are greatly controlled because they are directly accountable to regional majority, which may be a minority at the national level. Another pro of federalism is that the officials are more likely to live in localities where impact of policies is felt, and thus display a considerable responsiveness because regional majorities can tailor public policies to meet their needs and circumstances against uniform national policy. Similarly, policy experimentation becomes possible at regional level as well as at national level. If successful, the policy can be applied by other regions and not, costs of error are limited only to one province. At last and most importantly, federalism accommodates ethnic, linguistic or religious minorities because regional minorities may be local majorities. Hence, the issues like language, education, and legal systems, religious rights will correctly addressed which is the need of the moment for Nepal.

Federal procedures: a brief insight
There are two different models to distributing powers in federalism. Classical modal is that practiced in Australia, Canada, United States which possess exclusive areas of competence, each establishing and administering own programs. They have some concurrent jurisdiction. On the other hand, Inter-locking modal is practiced in Germany, South Africa which has many shared competences. In Germany, federal legislature enacts framework, regional legislature fleshes out detail while in South Africa, there is practice of concurrent jurisdiction with provincial paramount except when the national interest is at stake.
The practical effect of distribution of power is directly reflected in controls over government revenues. A federal state will have own source of revenues, which is key to autonomy for federal state enjoys revenue raising capacity as per expenditure needs. So fiscal transfers might or might not be conditional. Unconditional fiscal transfer is recommended in Nepal provided the craggy geography Nepal possesses.
Distribution of legislative, fiscal powers are normally set out in Constitution. But powers of individual constituent unit governments can be substantially determined through bilateral negotiations with the federal government while delegation of legislative responsibility between orders of government is permitted like in India.
In spite of some commonalities, every federation allocates power differently. The powers always enjoyed by the federal government are related Currency, Defence, Treaty implementation while powers related to external trade (occasionally concurrent), inter-state trade (occasionally concurrent), major infrastructure (sometimes concurrent/regional) and customs/excise taxes are usually enjoyed by federal state. The regional powers lie usually in intra-state trade (sometimes concurrent), Primary & Secondary education (sometimes concurrent), Health care (sometimes concurrent), Public health (sometimes concurrent) and Municipal affairs while the usually Concurrent or Joint affairs are associated with Environment, Courts, Police Corporate and personal taxes. However, there is no clear pattern in power sharing in the areas like Mineral resources, Agriculture and Criminal law

Political Institutions of Federal Government
The philosophy of federalism lies in self-rule and shared rule. Thus, institutions of shared rule are as very important to success of federalism as institutions of self-rule.
Federal government enjoys control over policy files which affect citizens in regions and the governments must interact not only because jurisdiction overlaps but also because federal government’s actions may support/undermine regional governments.
The offset of federations is manifested in ‘representation by population’ in legislatures through bicameralism. There are various representative principles. There is a lower house closer to representation by population and an upper house ensured through formula based on constituent units. But it may vary. The officials are elected or appointed in different ways. The lower house might contain authorities elected while the upper house may enlist officials through direct election like United States or indirect election India and South Africa.
Powers given by directly elected representatives by usually voting more along party than regional lines even though they may represent regional parties determines impact of upper house.
At the meantime, political party system will determine how federation will operate. There is an enormous variation. There may be national parties, functionally connected to regional parties and functionally independent from regional parties, while the regional parties might operate at national level or at regional level.

The rule of laws: a pillar of Federalism
Federalism is operated with the guidance of the written constitution. Thus, federalism requires written constitution which allocates power to each level of government. There are chances of jurisdictional disputes will arise which turn on conflicting interpretations of constitution. It needs a process to settle jurisdictional disputes. The constitution serves an umpire. In most federations judiciary serves as constitutional arbiter while it will have politically controversial position because it will be likely to be accused of playing politics.
Conditions for judicial success are that courts, especially apex court is pivotal as it is viewed as legitimate & impartial. The judges are selected on the basis of/by competence; consultation with/consent of constituent units and legislative oversight. The court might pose federal nature. There will be judicial independence with security of tenure and financial security. Most importantly, the judiciary bodies will have broader commitment to rule of law.
When it comes to emergency Powers some federations provide powers to central government to override normal constitutional arrangements in emergencies. The central government can thus override federal division of powers which must be overridden to undermine constitutional government like in India’s “President’s rule”
Constitution amendment is rather tenuous as it typically requires special procedures and majorities while amendments affecting constituent units usually require some measure of consent by their legislatures and executives or populations. Nonetheless, the degree of consent varies. Therefore, constitutions can be difficult to be amended. Nevertheless, alternatives to formal constitutional change are frequently sought so as to adapt federations to changing circumstances.

Intergovernmental Relations in federalism
There will be a considerable interdependence between two orders of government and regions especially in inter-locking federations. Politicians, civil servants, public all are prone to try to influence actions in other jurisdictions. Courts are not the only bodies to settle intergovernmental disputes because many disputes within constitutionally accepted boundaries may arise and there will be federal funding of provincial programs while most issues in dispute between governments do not turn on differences regarding constitution. The major determinant of intergovernmental relations will be power of executive relative to legislature. Also, if governments are dominated by the executive, then ‘executive federalism’ becomes key intergovernmental process whereas if legislatures play more independent role, then there will be more diffused pattern of intergovernmental relations. The effectiveness of ‘federal’ role for upper house in central government will equally be significant. Another determinant factor is the number of units.
Central government may be quite dominant & can be coercive as well in relations with regions, or more equality and greater emphasis may be given on consultation and negotiated agreements.
the CA
the election


The Relevance of Federalism
Although federalism is not inherently superior form of democracy and its value depends on circumstances, it is very relevant to the countries where there is broad respect for rule of law, culture of tolerance & accommodation between population groups, embracing diversity as what defines country better than tolerance for stability of federation and significant elements of shared identity

Modal suitable for Nepal
There have been copious talks as to what kind of federalism is really epoch-making for Nepal, and two modals have been widely debated namely federalism based on ethnicity and federalism based on geography. The proponents of the former say that ethnicity-based federalism was the heart of mass resurrection while the proponents of the latter are of the opinion that reengineering should not be a matter of social issue. They say it should cover the economy. Whatever way, the new state should not opt out inclusiveness, convolution of power to the national minority groups which are locally majorities. The focus should be now on ensuring balanced growth and a healthy inter-state relationship which should be reflected in economic and social issues. This gives birth to fiscal federalism.

Federalism based on ethnicity
It is every considerable fact that ethnicity is one of the most frequently cited sources of instability and conflict within states. Intra-state conflicts between different ethnic groups or between ethnic minorities and the state supersede inter-state conflicts today. It is thus crucial to propound institutional devices ensuring democratic participation from the whole spectrum of ethnic groups within a state, thereby managing ethnic tension to prevent violent conflict, instability or state disintegration. Federalism has become a popular resort in this direction for theorists and policy makers alike.
Maoists have proposed for an Ethnic federal system, where the borders between the regional units should match the boundaries of relevant ethnic or linguistic communities. Although support for federalism as a tool of ethnic conflict mitigation is generally strong among political scientists, the idea of ethnic based federalism is highly controversial.
A major argument in favor of ethnically based federations is that the country’s ethnic subdivision ensures that the various ethnic groups will form a local majority in one or more of the subunits (Kymlicka 2006). In this way, minorities may feel a sense of security and be enabled to promote own culture and identity. It is assumed that when the demands of self-determination are met and the culture of the groups is assured, the source of inter-ethnic struggles is undermined and instead intra-ethnic competition is likely to occur.

In the contrary, the iconoclastic political scientists who are against ethnic federal subunits claim when ethnic groups have their own subunits, instability and the pressure for secession are likely to increase or when the group is endowed with resources, legitimacy and an independent power base, people’s loyalty will be to the regional subunit rather than to the federation as a whole, thus undermining the existence of the dual loyalty, which is essential to the unity of the state (Feardon and Laitin 1996; Brubaker and Laitin 1998, Duchacek 1987). They further there is also a practical problem in the creation of ethnically homogenous regions, which is very relevant for Nepal. Ethnic homogeneity is hardly possible in any territory in multi-ethnic states, due to the diversity and mixture of peoples across ethnic boundaries. Therefore, new minorities are likely to be created within the subunits, who are in danger of being victimized, intentionally or not (Adeney 2000). On the other hand, by creating ethnically heterogeneous subunits it is possible to prevent national minorities from becoming local majorities (Elazar 1987).

Implications for Nepal
Surprisingly enough, there is no clear cut answer to the question whether ethnic federalism by itself undermines democracy and stability in multi-ethnic states. However, the Indian case displays that there is a symbiotic relationship between federalism and democracy and hence the federal subdivision of the state would probably not have managed to facilitate Indian unity if it had not been a democracy, while the well functioning democracy is made possible by the empowerment of regional states and minorities in the federation. In contrast, the illegitimate centralization of power and the lack of democracy in Ethiopia are undermining the federal division of power, and the federal subdivision along ethnic lines is exacerbating ethnic conflict. It is thus clear that democracy and federalism must co-exist in order for federalism to have a stabilizing and reconciliatory effect. Nevertheless, when it comes to stability, the experiences of both federations illustrate the intrinsic problems of ethnic federalism: the danger of a never ending process of state demands from more and more ethnic groups. Unless claims for separate statehood are accompanied by a high degree of flexibility from the central government to change sub-federal borders, there is a danger of increased and continued ethnic tension. It also shows that unless ethnic subdivision is supplemented by a strong protection of minority rights, it is likely to lead to increased discrimination of sub-ethnic communities. Based on these conclusions, the Constituent Assembly of Nepal should carefully consider the following recommendations:

Recommendations
1. The Constitution should facilitate the consolidation of a deep-rooted and inclusive democracy, involving all segments of society, including various ethnic groups and castes.
2. It should enhance a political system which permits the expression of various cleavages in society (class, caste, urban/rural, religion etc), not only the ethnic one. Nationally based, and not only ethnically confined parties, should be allowed and encouraged.
3. The constitution should include flexible and transparent procedures for the creation of potentially new federal sub-units.
4. It should ensure a strong protection of minority rights and universal individual human rights, by asserting that all citizens within the various federal units, not only the indigenous ones, should have the right to employment and property.
5. The Constitution should carefully balance the rights of federal units with those of the central state. A strong and legitimate political centre is a precondition for the rule of law and a genuine protection of the rights of all citizens of Nepal.

A brief note on Fiscal federalism: Problems and foresight
Fiscal federalism pertains to the revenue apportionment and balance. Some states have higher level income while some are dependent. According to a government's report as much as 81% of government revenues in Nepal were in 2004/05 from the four districts of Kathmandu (42%), Parsa (24%), Morang (8%) and Rupandehi (7%). The next top revenue earners were Lalitpur (2%), Chitwan (2%), Sindhupalchoc (1%), Jhapa (1%), Dhanusa (1%), Banke (1%), Makwanpur (1%), and Kaski (1%). The remaining 63 districts contributed only 6% of the revenue. This proves that irrespective of the ultimate partition into federal states, Nepal will face a challenge in redistributing government revenues from the few wealthy districts to the majority of poor districts. The states in which the aforelisted twelve districts lie will be very prosperous while the rest will be underprivileged. This is a major challenge when it comes to reallocation between states. The need for redistribution of government revenues, and thus the risk of political conflict, will depend on the actual partition of the country into federal states since most proposals end up with poor states in the eastern and western hills, and potentially a poor state in the western terai. As a consequence, redistribution between, and within, states will be necessary.
A federal state will meet many of the same problems of taxation and redistribution as a unitary state. Additional specific problems and potential benefits may arise from the federal structure itself. In general, a federal structure is beneficial if local conditions vary from one region to another. As local needs vary the local government may be in a better position to implement necessary policies. However, this requires that the local government actually pursue the interests of the local population, and not the local elite.
Another potential problem is that local governments may decide on very different tax and redistribution schemes. In India they have even taxed inter-state trade, which implies that each state will produce less of the goods and services for which they have comparative advantages. In the Nepali context, however, this would mean that hill districts may have to pay tax on rice imported from the terai. Similarly, the federal states may decide on different tax rates between states, and between commodities and services within states. In both cases people may adjust to these tax differences by moving economic activities to other states, or between sectors within states. This means that the states may compete on tax rates, and it means that the tax-structure may lead to inefficient production of goods and services. There are many examples of this from India, where the federal fiscal system is being reformed.
Nepal should attempt to avoid the mistakes made in India. The tax-system should be as simple, and broad, as possible. Most economic activities should contribute to the government's provision of public goods, and tax rates should be uniform across sectors and states. As taxes are collected at the local level, it is wise to let the local government keep a share of the taxes to give incentives to create a broad tax base, and to effectively collect taxes. In addition, there is need for a simple redistribution scheme, where the poorer states get additional funding from the centre. There will also be need for a redistribution scheme within states, where the poorer districts receive funding from the state government. Finally, it is essential that the local bureaucracy and politicians are accountable to the voters. This would mean regular local elections and the authority by the central government to legally intervene whenever the local government misuses its powers.

How many states?
Provided Nepal is a very small country, the state restructuring committee should make as less states as possible. Self determination, together with inclusiveness will make a conducive environment for every citizen to fell home where they are living. The states should be equitable and equal in the division of natural resources and reallocation of governments' revenues.

Conclusions
The new constitution should facilitate a deep-rooted and inclusive democracy where all minorities are protected. Irrespective of the final partition, there will be a number of ethnic minorities within all federal states. A thriving and inclusive local democracy is necessary to secure the interests of all local peoples and not only the local elites. Furthermore, the constitution should secure the interests of groups defined along non-ethnic cleavages such as class, caste, urban/rural and religion. To the extent possible each federal state should include an economic center. This is hard to implement given the regional economic structure of Nepal, and a relatively strong national government is necessary to redistribute financial resources to the poorer states in the eastern, and in particular, the western hills, and possibly also the western terai. The national government should also unify the tax- and redistribution system to avoid tax competition and inefficient adjustments to the fiscal system.

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I am busy or a Con?

March 24th 2010 13:09
I have been trying to come out of the hecticness and write down something noteworthy, but you know, I am dead busy, like a machine. I think about writing while working, but as i go home, rather limping, i just end up sleeping. it does not mean i am not writing anything at all. i snatch out some time for writing while i am teaching( I m a teacher!) and have written some ten new poems which i want to publish
busy man
look how busy the author is!
.
i hope the time will certainly come one day to write comprehensively and also to give comments on the blogs at orble. we have a day off here every Saturday. let me hope i will really site down one of these Saturday and come forth with something.
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quagmire 2 : the life in limboo

March 24th 2010 13:00
The Politics Fleeing the Masses
the kid
do they know how they shape her?



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the Uk
the dicey bridge
“Everything went bust,” embosoms Mahindra Yadav, 23, a UK student visa aspirant when the High Commission in New Delli tightened the visa issuance. Yadav married in the court six months ago, with Sapana Silwal, 22, who sat for IELTS exam rendering him the dependent. Fortunately enough, they have taken to liking each other even though they had not seen each other when they signed the marriage papers. Nonetheless, they have trouble staying in Nepal. “Sapana is lower cast. My parents won’t accept her,” he gloomily says. Madhu Bhandari has the similar story. Bhandari has not even seen anything of his wife, except for the photographs even if they have been married for more than five months now. “I financed her study backhandedly. I paid the college fees, and I am not sure whether I will get the money back,” Bhandari reveals.

Bhandari and Yadav are two of thousands of Nepali youths, who were denied Visa and who are waiting uncertainly for the college fees to come back. The two in the context applied to Twin College via Yam Ballav Kharel, a consultant who took service charge of 110 pounds apart from a commission of 25% from the college. But the college is suspended now, rendering 127 Nepali students enlisted through Kharel uncertain


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the aching writer

March 13th 2010 10:12
I wrote in an email to my Australian friend, “I am very glad to hear from you. I am even gladder to know the things happening in your life.” I, however, wonder now whether I was really glad. In the mail, I, at the end of the mail, wrote, 'in peace sandesh'.
Why o I now feel that I have never been in peace even if many good things have turned on. It is the holiday season. I go visit my relatives, we party together, dance and sing, I play cards with uncles. I seem to laugh, enjoy the moments. But there is a loophole somewhere within...A seedy sense of absence usually descends on me when I am alone and goads me into thinking, "If life is what it's, it is boring!" A labyrinth of thoughts: life is not what it should be. Life void, flawed...and who knows what...

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i one i know as me

March 8th 2010 09:26
Born in Bhojpur in the year 1982 to a peasant family, I was reared up in Jhapa as my family migrated there in the year 1986. Though I never had a strong scholastic performance, I was deemed fair since I would pass even if I didn’t properly study. It was the biggest government school of the realm, where was admitted. I always used to bunk school. The greatness of the school had certainly allured many students, and the volume of occupancy had greatly disabled the teachers to monitor every student.

I used to walk out ‘to go to school’, but I used to doss my time off along the then gritty road of Chandragadi, rummaging through the garbage under the paan Pasals (beetle shops) in the quest of thrown match boxes. The more colorful the boxes were the higher value they would carry in our game of Khap. I would walk home as the watch tolled ten with regular students


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Reading philosophy

March 8th 2010 07:54
Does reading simply mean going through a text or has it got something to do with enhancing the insight?
I say the latter is true. Reading, in my opinion, is not just flipping through the passages of a text. It is much rather understanding what you read. As you read through, some words, lines are certain to strike you like never before. They get you baffling. When you are struck, I think you should pause awhile, take your eyes off the texts, and look up or around. You might be outside or inside. If you are out, sunbathing while your head is on the book, you might see a kid brawling with his peers over certain things. Anything is possible; boy might be being whacked like I saw this afternoon while I was going through the Himalayan Times at a corner of Maitidevi Street. It is true this is distracting. But this is where most engaging feat of reading lies.
You are struck harder by the external realities, and you are going through a book. It is understandable that you want to pack off the book and envelope yourself with the tidings. But don't budge unless you are a part of it (you are a far-fetched part of it though). Try hard to assimilate what you see with what you read. It is an experience worth having


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Boss, yeah he is the real nut

March 7th 2010 04:32
How does it feel like having to slip of capricious world every morning, getting ready in no time, eating in hurry, and packing yourself in glitzy corporate attires? And about having to listen to the jitters that your boos is always ready to dump on you in the lieu of the meager salary he pays?
Very taxing, and monotonous, I guess.
Then I wanted to search for alternatives. I asked a writer friend how he is managing not to work, and driving a brand new Santro. "Dip into the internet," he said, smiling that curious writery smile. It was wonderful how you can manage to eke out what you call subsistence and lifestyles, merely browsing through internet. However, I gave his advice a very serious thought


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Recent Comments

Comment by sandeshg
on Where Do I Start?

March 8th 2010 08:49
Having a child is always good thing while it is somehow demanding. Yeah, demanding because you got to look for his bright future. I myself have a son. a two year old. i am rearing him up in a bustling ambiance. the more c rowdy is atmosphere is, sooner kids pick of language. however, it is equally challenging. mention not! my son now speak very brilliantly. add to this, he can chant verses of Ramayana, a Shaskrit epic, all thanks to his grand mother. we are a joint family now. he can also sing and dance.

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