Here's an extract from a piece historian Pratyoush Onta, who's a visiting scholar this spring at an American university, once wrote (in January 2001 in The Kathmandu Post) after Chintan got beaten up in Kathmandu .. .. EXTRACT: "It is also the reason why the likes of lawyer-activist Gopal Sivakoti ‘Chintan’ get beaten up. Whatever might be his faults, personal and professional, Chintan has done a lot to raise issues regarding the right of all Nepalis to live with dignity. He has been a pioneer in the right to information movement. He has forced various big players - our governments, our corporate bosses, our donor maliks including the World Bank - to seriously consider issues related to distributive justice regarding the benefits of development projects. He has helped to form networks of numerous activists who want their voices to be counted in the national and international arenas where decisions affecting them are routinely made. As a teacher of law and legal practitioner, he has contributed significantly to the movement of public interest litigation in Nepal. Through all of his activities, he has tried to give the culture of open and reasoned discussions a firm foundation in our otherwise closed society. Of late, he has forced the debate that it is not the job of NGOs to deliver bikas. A one-time left-party worker himself, he has openly criticized the Maoists for their murderous ways. Perhaps more than anybody else I know, Gopal Sivakoti ‘Chintan’ has continuously shown a mirror to those who have claimed to lead Nepali society and forced them to see their ugly selves in it. That is precisely why he has earned the wrath of so many people in our country. For years, members of the media have routinely published unsubstantiated charges against him. The Police once fabricated a false case against him and locked him up for a few days. And just some days ago, unknown assailants attacked him, causing severe bodily harm. Had it not been for the timely intervention of passer-bys, Chintan would have perhaps been killed. The attack on the likes of Chintan is unfortunate and it must be condemned in the strongest terms possible. However the incident also shows that precise analyses and network building - hallmark of Chintan’s portfolio of activities - done to provide a life of human dignity to all Nepalis do matter. It matters at a time when tolerance toward dissenting views is increasingly being dealt with in the safaaya model by the Maoists, violence against Nepali Madhesis is being justified in terms of vacuous nationalism of Panchayati vintage, and individual greed has overtaken the majority of the comfortable classes of Nepal." Source: - http://www.nepalnews.com.np/contents/englishdaily/ktmpost/2001/jan/jan26/editorial.htm