Dr. Strangelove ji - My readings of Dixits is that they are not for an active/sakria monarchy. Who is for such a system anyway besides the Mandales? Just because they are not pro-absolute monarchy does not make them pro-India. Many people dislike the Dixit family and they are controversial in some quarters but that's not because they are pro-India but rather because they have the survival instinct, perhaps a Bahun-character, honed by decades of flowing with the political winds of Nepal. The Dixit family are astute enough to know that the days of absolute monarchy is gone and perhaps you can argue that its the reason for their siding with the political parties, remember they were monarchists once, but that's not the same thing as being pro-India. The Mandale tend to argue that if you are against the king, you are pro-India. But that's a hypocrisy. Probably more than any family in Nepal, even more that Sadhvawana cadres, the Nepal king and his aristocratic henchmen have closer blood relations to India. If Paras "Uday Hussein" Shah becomes the king (god forbid), we'll have an Indian/Rajasthani queen. The Ranas, Shahs and Thapas that populate the army's top brass and the RPP have sasuras-and-samdhi's that are Indians - the latest being Prajawal Thapa but the list goes on. Karan Singh, an Indian buddy of Gyane and an Indian relative of Pashupati SJBR should be credited for saving Gyane's a** from Nepali people's wrath. The Maoists are a significant (but not the dominant) political force in Nepal and they have raised many legitimate issues erstwhile ignored by the ruling political class. That does not mean I condone their violence or their extortion. The bottom-line is that the Maoists are there and we've to deal with them. The most important issue for Nepal is to bring the Maoists to the mainstream and whoever can do that will have my and Nepali history's kudos. If peace prevails and political dialog revolve around normal issues like corruption-nepotism-governance and sometimes leftist-vs-rightist economic policies, then Nepal will have a tremendous future. I'll be very bullish on Nepal. Remember Afghanistan's economy in the post-Taliban period has registered 10+ growth rate (one of the fastest in Asia). Nepal's stock market already reflects that optimism - it's up more than 15% since mid-April. Personally I don't think the Maoists will be able to impose Khmer Rouge or North Korea like rule in Nepal. If Nepalese people can prevent a centuries old monarchy built on personality cult with personal army from imposing his will, they can certainly prevent lilliputs like Prachanda from doing the same. Joshi ji - I didn't know Mr Rana was associted with Retuers. Now that explains why the Retuers stories during the aldolan period were very misleading. They tended to parrot the home ministry line "that Maoists have infiltrated the demonstration and they were instigating violence" etc. Even BBC Nepali service was anti-SPA until the events on the ground made them look ridiculous. I think Rabindra Misra, the new BBC Nepali service head is institively pro-monarchy. I don't have a problem with that as long as it does not show in his programs but unfortunately it does sometimes.