Nepal News & Discussion

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Sunday_...how/3961836.cms

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>In the name of God, Nepal tries to rewrite history</b>

KATHMANDU: Ashes from the burning pyres fall into the stagnant green drain, clogged with burnt wood, dead flowers and polythene bags. Mangy dogs snarl at hungry monkeys harassing the devotees. Slender hill women try to sell cheap silver bracelets to backpackers busy clicking a body at the royal ghat. Small groups of people jostle against each other at the gate, waiting for the main door to open as security guards keep watch. Inside the compound, the temple’s huge courtyards wear a deserted look. The priests have vanished. No prayers are being performed.

This was the scene for five consecutive days this week at the abode of Lord Pashupatinath — the deity believed to protect Nepal — on the banks of the Bagmati, which is like an apology for a river.<b> The Pashupatinath temple is one of the four shrines every Shiva devotee is expected to visit at least once in his life. Now, it is the centre of a row that may give a new twist to already complex Indo-Nepal relations.</b> At the heart of the controversy are five priests from Karnataka, who were given their marching orders by the shrine authorities. They were replaced earlier in the week by two Nepali priests and only restored to office by PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal at the end of seven days of hue and cry.

The Indian priests may be back at the shrine for the moment, but almost everyone agrees that their days are over. They don’t fit into Nepal’s changing scenario, where <b>nationalism is on the rise</b> and Big Brother India disliked, if not despised. This week, as the temple bhandaris, who provide logistical support to the priests, came under attack from members of the Youth Communist League, the mood in front of the main gate was clearly anti-Indian. Young Nepalese men asked loudly, “what the hell are Indian priests doing at a Nepali temple?” Gopal, a bhandari, says, “The bhandaris, who are mostly Nepali, are not allowed even to touch the deity. Only the Indian priests can do that”.

It is a 350-year-old tradition that Indian priests manage Nepal’s holiest shrine. Though Gopal doesn’t support the way Nepali priests were imposed on the temple, he says he understands and backs the sentiment behind it.

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