After April Movement the king was stripped off of his powers. Not only that, the House of Representatives declared that the King is no longer the chief of the Nepal Army. The word ‘Royal’ was dropped from every name in Nepal. The HOR went to the extent to declared Nepal as a secular country. These all happened a couple of months ago, and I will talk about it some other time. The one I am talking about today is Dashain. Until last year, it was a tradition for the army officers, government officials including the prime minister and general public in Nepal to receive tika from the King. I remember seeing a huge line of people waiting in front of the palace for the same purpose. Then this year, I saw the news that the prime minister is boycotting the tradition. I thought it was good for the politicians and bureaucrats in Nepal, as I might break off the slave mentality. Ironically, today’s Nepal News portrays a different picture. Here’s the cut and paste from today’s news. “On the day of Dashain, on Monday, PM Koirala and his ministers broke off with the tradition of receiving Tika from the King. Instead, PM Koirala kept himself busy on the day in his hometown where most members of the extended Koirala family were present. Friends, relatives, party workers, well-wishers, and government officials streamed in to receive Tika from the prime minister.” (Source: http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2006/oct/oct03/news03.php) So, Mister Prime Minister, I can understand your keeping busy with extended Koirala family. What amazes me is why could not you boycott the government officials “streamed” to receive tika from you. Is it that instead of Royal Palace we have Koirala Palace now?