Satash - When an opportunistic Nepali lands with a forged Nepali passport (wherein he calls himself Tashi Namgyal - although his name is Pema Lama and is from Rasuwa) in Switzerland to seek an asylum, why does he call himself a Tibetan refugee. Why? It is easier to fool the Swiss Immigration Officials. Two of my own related (Nepali) brothers (they don't know shit about Tibet or Tibetan culture) have passed themselves off as Tibetan refugees and are now happily working/living in Switzerland. I don't begrudge them their luck! If a Nepali can pass himself off as a Tibetan, what is wrong with Tibetans (even though they hold Nepali passports) calling themselves Tibetans! This has nothing to do with loyalty to Nepal - this is purely economic opportunism. Tibetans - well, the Swiss Govt likes to give asylum to bona fide Tibetan refugees for sure - so why shouldn't they call themselves "Tibetans", no matter the passports they hold. You get my drift? -------- Imi, I don't know what you mean by the gravity of the situation. I have not yet seen rallies by Hindu fundamentalists on the streets of Kathmandu demanding that Nepal be a redeclared a Hindu state. So what do a few skirmishes happening in India matter? These India-based Hindu fundamentalists are a minority even in India. They have to engineer killings of Muslims on the flimsiest pretexts to even come to power - so we already know who they are: terrorists in brilliant disguise. They want Nepal to be a "Hindu country" so that they can use this as a leverage to Indianise/influence/milk Nepal for what she's worth. Don't you get it: they see Nepal as a Kam-dhenu (or wish-fulfilling) cash cow. You think Hinduism will flourish under their control! Many guys who are arguing for "Hindu Nepal" are wittingly or unwittingly playing into their hands!!! Certainly there will be a short term problem, but in the long term, these guys will expose themselves for who they are (if they already haven't): bigots & supremacists! ----- Did you know that it is the Sankaracharyas from South India who actually control the Pashupati Nath Temple? How come the Nepali Hindu priests are having to play second fiddles to these priests? When Mr. Pokhrel (a homegrown reform-minded Nepali Hindu) actually does something good, he is taken out! Did he pose threats to these Indian Hindu priests who are given protection by the palace in cahoots with the India-based fundamentalist organisations. Why do you think these India-based hindu fundamentalist groups were/are so eager to make "Gyanendra" the king of all Hindus? Why would paras say "I'm married to India!" to the Indian Ambassador at a reception in Kyrgyzstan? This is something worth pondering. Even the Hindu guru based in Muktinath (whom my mom looks upto) was not happy with these Hindu fundamentalists - he even had this to say about King's autocratic rule during the protest days: "Well certainly, Muktinath will not protect our King. Only Pashupati Nath may protect him!" Can you decode this statement for me? Probably he meant, certainly Nepali Hindus are not gonna protect this King - may be the Sankarcharyas & India-based Hindus who have controlled Pashupati Nath since time immemorial may! Certainly, the Nepali Hindu priests have resented the fact that Gyanendra had been highjacked by the India-based Hindu orgs and fundamentalists. Is it any wonder that Nepal chapters of VHP and Shiva Sena have been funded by the Nepali state? Did you see how much money the palace-appointed government had doled out to Bharat Keshari Singh's fundamentalist Hindu group?? Check out the statement of expenses released by Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat!! Do you think these monies doled out to the fundamentalists were put to a good use? If they were, would Bagmati hit you with a foulest smell every time you cross the Kupondole-Thapathali bridge? Bagmati is not a river, it is a sewer!!! Bagamti has become a metaphor for what went wrong for Hinduism and could still go wrong under "Hindu Nepal". Paradoxically under Secular Nepal, Lumbini, birthplace of Nepal, has undergone amazing transformation and gotten global recognition, where as the hilltop Hindu shrines in and around Kathmandu valley rim have languished. Monasteries have outshined them! See, being a "Hindu Nepal" doesn't augur well for Hinduism itself - because then Hinduism gets highjacked by the Hindu fundamentalists (palace, VHP, Shiva Sena, BJP) that always threaten to marginalize reform minded Hindu souls like Mr. Pokhrel. It gets mired in politics and loses its cultural import. It only benefits India-based Hindu fundamentalist groups and their stooges in Nepal. I already explained this above. You think these fundamentalists guys care about Hinduism - they only care about inciting sectarian / religious violence to come to power. They have engineered many a massacre of Muslims in India to come to power - from Gujarat to Ayodhya. Under Secular Nepal, Hinduism has a chance to cleanse itself and reform itself - so that it becomes palatable to the masses. Even the Dalits are voting with their feet and saying goodbye to Hinduism. "Only Hindus may enter!" sign at Pashupati Nath has pissed off many a tourist. These are not making Hinduism popular with anyone! The fundamentalist hindus are not fooling anyone either. Hinduism could regain its lost ground ... but sorry guys, under "Hindu Nepal" this is not possible. Which is why "Secular Nepal" is best for all concerned, including the level headed Hindus! -----------