Poonte, Do you know for SURE what the Kochila (Tharus) are seeking liberation from? I don't. Hence, I asked that question above. Still, I am struck that you could easily slide into this "Well, since they sound like an ethnic minority, they must be fighting for the same rights for inclusion and representation that minorities worldwide fight for" type of thinking. What's your basis for making that sort of an assumption? Do all minorities always fight violently for inclusion and representation? Would your thinking change if you were told that this particular group is a murderous splinter group from the larger Tharuwan Morcha, and that it's hellbent on causing destruction and mayhem all around? **** Poonte further wrote: "I mean, I hold strong apathy to the idea of BANDHS -- I wish the disgruntled mass sought other creative ways to voice their grudges, rather than resorting to BANDHS, which obviously affects a lot of innocents, and gravely damages the already-imperiled national economy. But to question their right to demand improved equality, no matter where they stand on an economic ladder within the composition of various ethnic groups, is to weaken the very unity that some fear is at stake." Well, to use an inelegant Texan expression, let's not go peeing down both legs here. Let's be clear: Calling for Nepal Bandhs because one group didn't get what it wanted is stupid and khattam kaam. There is no excuse for this. Democracy -- let's be clear (and I paraphrase here) -- is NOT about getting everything we want. It's about NOT getting everything we want. It's about seeing our opponents win and get what we hoped to have, and of accepting that outcome, knowing fully well that we will have another chance to get what we want. As such, democracy is all about making compromises; giving up some now, knowing that we may be able to gain that back in future. The trouble with the Maoists and the this Kochila group is that these are guys are UNWILLING to make compromises . . . so assured are they about the purity of their half-baked doctrines that they see no contracdiction in their pushing for their version of 'democracy' through utterly undemocratic means. That is why, we should question their tactics and their arguments, without, of course, trading blows. oohi ashu