Baral. A., Malik. B., Pant., Adhikari. J., Basnet. P., Titikshu. U. (2008).

By the Way: Travels

through Nepal´s Conflict. Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal: Martin Chautari

The title of the book, By the Way: Travels through Nepal's Conflict, reflects its approach and
content. The previously unpublished articles included in this volume and those made available in
English are the observations and impressions of Nepal-based journalists and writers who, while
traveling through rural areas for various purposes, learned about how life was being lived in the
context of armed conflict. The authors had not initially planned to write these pieces but simply
noted what they witnessed during their travels. Unlike conventional studies, none had any
specific 'field site' or 'target population' in mind. The information thus pertains to the entire
conflict zone, in other words, the whole country. For this reason, events occurring in Kathmandu
at the outset of their journeys are as important as those they observed elsewhere. These
narratives, covering the entire travel process, reveal that all of Nepal had become a battle zone.

Though most of the writers are not ethnographers and have not been explicitly trained in
methods of fieldwork or modern anthropological tools, they have together furnished well-
written, deeply insightful, and balanced accounts of their experiences and observations. While
the content contributes to the academic field as well as to the body of general information on
Nepal in conflict, the style is neither dry nor heavy, as are many other scholarly works. After
reviewing these pieces, friends at Martin Chautari suggested that they be published and therefore
shared with larger audiences wanting to understand the conflict and its social implications. All
the articles pertain to the period of intense strife following the breakdown of the second ceasefire
after August 2003. Two were translated from Nepali and the others were initially written in
English.

The authors write from varying perspectives, each bringing a distinctive voice. They come from
different backgrounds and traveled through different ecological and social zones of the country
that were at one time or another engulfed by armed violence. Each author was particularly struck
by one or two particular issues. Nonetheless, the pieces share certain commonalities: each
describes the reasons for the author's journeys, the places visited and Maoist activity in the area.
The articles all contain striking observations and reportage that varies in dependence on the
author's profession, background, gender and professional training. Different approaches and
reporting and analytical styles are clearly noticeable.
The authors have included interesting bits of information often forgotten in other texts where the
larger issues of the armed conflict assume center stage. Such 'minor' details indicate the anatomy
and sociology of a civil war with no clear battle zone', that has turned villages, towns, highways,
schools and other institutions and locales throughout Nepal into its battlefield. These articles
reveal that no rules are being observed in this struggle and that the social, psycho- social,
economic and political upheavals of nearly ten years of insurgency have left an indelible mark on
Nepali citizens. In recording their own impressions and the opinions of others, the narratives
incorporate the speech and ideas of individuals who were overheard or recorded informally.
While some may consider this unacademic or unanalytical, the judgments and opinions collected
in this way depict a wide variety of attitudes among ordinary, otherwise silent witnesses.

Chapter 1, by Jagannath Adhikari, describes his experience of living. and traveling in Bhojpur
just before a major attack in 2004, his purpose being to research livelihood improvement through
road construction. He discusses in detail the difficulties people faced in conducting their regular
day-to-day activities such as using the toilet at night and bathing at public water taps - and freely
expresses their suffering in the presence of both the security forces and the Maoists. He records
how frightening travel beyond the district headquarters is initially for outsiders, and also tells us
that he learned that his fears were exaggerated. The views of all kinds of people- elderly, poor,
women, office workers, Janajatis and Dalits recorded as heard during casual and personal
interactions and provide a vivid account of how different people experienced the insurgency. He
reveals as well how they developed their attitudes. toward the problems created by civil war and
the actions of the involved parties. Development is Adhikari's main interest, and he illustrates
many setbacks to the development process despite the popular wish that development move
forward. As real work on the road project cannot be done, the financial burden of keeping staff
increases, while budgets remain low. He highlights the corruption, human rights violations, high-
handedness and alcohol abuse that has led to public apathy or animosity toward government
security forces. After a brief visit he, along with many others, clearly knew of an impending
Maoist attack. Surprisingly, the security forces paid little attention to this information, and their
insouciance had serious consequences. Adhikari lets us know how people of all backgrounds
were coping with the conflict, how they depended on personal resources and connections,
gathered information and developed specific ways of minimizing the adverse effects. This
differed from individual to individual, according to their circumstances.

DR Pant's article, Chapter 2, describes the pathetic situation of citizens in far western villages
caught between the Maoists and the security forces. Both parties appear equally responsible for
murder, torture, extortion and other human rights abuses such as rape and abduction. He
highlights the desolation of families whose members were killed or disappeared. Security forces
visited villages only occasionally, while the Maoists caused problems more or less daily.
Families had to donate a certain amount of rice for each meal they consumed, as much as one
third of the rice they required. Families with very little food to survive themselves were forced to
feed groups of Maoists. Teachers, government workers and even small shop-owners had Maoist
taxes levied on them. People were killed on the pretext of being 'class enemies' or government
spies, or else were abducted so that their property: cash, jewelery and other valuables, including
houses and land, could be looted or used. At the same time the torture of local people by security
forces, the beating up of local youths, the rape of girls and young women, mistreatment of
students, and destruction of community conserved forest areas caused many local youths to join
the Maoists or leave their villages. Villages have been emptied of their young.
Pant had traveled to the area to assist a western journalist study the pitiful condition of village
children, and he reflects on his companion's insistence on assuring people that he was not
American. In actual fact, he found the Maoist rebels often eager to talk to him so they could give
the impression that they were working for a good cause. The local residents also desired to make
their poor living conditions and suffering known.

The article in Chapter 3 by Bela Malik and Usha Titikshu begins with their experience traveling
from Kathmandu to Biratnagar by bus to participate in a peace rally organized by a Kathmandu-
based NGO. It also contains sections on visits to several other districts, including Udaypur,
where they went to examine a health project They describe the particular experience of non-
traditional urban women traveling through the conflict zone, and what it was like to confront
curious and surly men pointing guns. The security personnel seemed to automatically consider
them as likely Maoists. For them, the government unleashed counter-insurgency mirrored or was
even worse than the insurgency itself.
The authors depict the debacle of aid-driven activism, which reinforces hegemonic attitudes and
exploitative social relationships, and apparently aims primarily to obtain additional aid. They
also relate stories they heard from village women about killings, torture, rape and extortion by
both Maoists and security personnel. These stories reveal the reality for women, particularly the
young, the poor and the widowed. Many problems are caused by groups of security personnel
who roam the area wearing civilian clothes. In addition, they observed women's growing
psychological problems, the effects of children being socialized into an environment of conflict,
and the fiasco of certain aid-backed health services.

In Chapter 4, the journalist Purna Basnet describes traveling through Dolpa, a district known for
its natural beauty, and looking at people's lives there. He was accompanying several American
researchers and development professionals. His experience of traveling with Americans was
unusual, given Maoist restrictions on them and the closure of all American-supported activity.
Most development activities in the district had been suspended after Maoists demanded either
heavy donations or other assistance. Basnet also describes security force's presence, their search
of different locations and their general behavior. Based on local people's recollections, he
discusses the September 2000 Maoist attack on Dunai, the district headquarters, and its
subsequent impacts. This event is notorious in Nepali politics for providing clear evidence of the
Royal Nepal Army's loyalty to the monarchy rather than to the democratically elected
government. Basnet saw a clear distinction between 'district headquarters' and Dolpa's other
areas'. The former was controlled by outsiders with a feeling of 'normalcy' fostered by organizing
cultural programs and other activities clearly aimed at government officers, security forces and
business people (He goes on to analyze the general decline of the economy, tourism and trade in
the rest of the district, as well as the growing control and appropriation by Maoists of
environmental benefits like medicinal herbs that are crucial for the residents' livelihoods.

The final article, Chapter 5, presents Ajit Baral's description of traveling in Maoist controlled
areas with a British photojournalist. His discussion of his companion's expectations, reactions
and activities make for interesting reading, especially as the photojournalist's interests differed
from those of the local people.
Issues and problems that he considered major, whether they pre-existing social conditions or
difficulties attributable to the Maoists, seemed rather trivial to the residents. Foreign journalists
often visit Nepal with their own - possibly erroneous - views on the conflict, and have a hard
time changing them. Baral also portrays Maoist interest in showing off their efforts to foreign
journalists. They point to their road construction projects, their greater inclusion of women in
party activities and their efforts dismantle feudalistic structures, while hiding their coercion and
extortion. This may result from the general Maoist perception that foreign journalists always
write. critically about their activities. All in all, his description of the situation, and the varied
reactions of the Maoists, the photojournalist and the common people-including those secretly
critical of Maoist activities - are worthy of a piece of fiction.